The Blackburn Softball Team splits doubleheader with home Stephen College by the scores of 10-4 Blackburn and 13-8 Stephens on Saturday April 22, 2019. The games were played at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.
In the first game both teams exhibited plenty of offense as both teams combined for 14 runs and 24 hits. The Beavers took an early advantage as Haley Shull (Taylorville, Illinois / Taylorville) scores on a throwing error in the first inning. In the bottom of the second the Stars took the lead scoring four runs. In the top of the second inning the Beavers answered by scoring three runs. Started with a Shull single to right-field. Baylee Hughes (Carlinville, Illinois, Carlinville) bunted for a single, and Megan Moseley (Clinton, Indiana / Riverton Parke) walked to load the bases. Then Brooke Daniels (Lapel, Indiana / Lapel) slapped a double to left-field to drive in two runs. Halle Fransen (Pearl City, Illinois / Pearl City) hits a sac fly to tie the game at four runs apiece. Blackburn took a one-run lead in the fourth with a double from Hughes to score Briahna Whelan (Prairie du Rocher, Illinois / Red Bud). Fransen singled to left-center to drive in Hughes to extend the led to two. Blackburn was not content with their lead as they scored three more in the fifth inning. Kennedy Henson (Centralia, Illinois / Centralia) singled to left to drive in a run. Lexie Yockey (Pleasant Plains, Illinois / Pleasant Plains) also scored on the play on throwing errors. Hughes singled to left-field to score Shull. The lead was 9-4 after five innings. Blackburn added an insurance run in the seventh as Henson singled to right field to drive in a run. After a rough second inning Fransen settled in and did not allow another run. Hughes and Shull lead the Beavers with three hits each. Blackburn had four batters with two RBI's each. Fransen was the winning pitcher as she pitched a complete game allowing ten hits, four runs, two walks, and had four strikeouts. Emma Kelly was the losing pitcher as she also pitched a complete game allowing 14 hits, ten runs, and three walks.
In the second game both teams exhibited a plethora of offense as they combined for 21 runs and 23 hits. The scoring started in the first, after a couple hits, Moseley reached on an error allowing Shull to score. Then the Beavers played some small ball as Fransen executed a safety squeeze to score Hughes and Fransen is safe on the play. Moseley stole home to extend the Beaver lead 3-0. The Stephens were quick to score as they had runners on first and third when Macy Mcintosh was thrown out trying to steal second, which allowed Mariah Montoya to score. In the second inning the Beavers extended the lead to 5-1. Yockey lead off the inning and eventually scored on a throwing error. Daniels singled to left and knocked in Hughes. The Stars scored four runs to tie the game in the third inning. With two runners on base Kelly singled to drive in a run. With two runners in scoring position Leira Acosta singled to right-field to drive in two more. In the bottom of the fourth the Stars took their first lead of the day as Jamie Wittmer drove in Montoya. In the top of the fifth with the Beavers trailing Shull was at the dish with two outs and two one and she comes up clutch as she singled to left to give Blackburn seven to six lead. In the bottom of the fifth Stephens strung together multiple hits and a few costly errors whiched allowed them to score seven runs to take a 13-7 lead heading into the 6th. In the top of the sixth Fransen doubled to right-center to knock in Moseley. The stars lead was now 13-8, which ended up as the final score. Shull lead the Beavers with another three-hit game, along with 2 RBI's. The winning pitch for the Star was Wittmer as she pitched a complete game allowing ten hits, eight runs, one walk, and had three punchouts. Tessa Beckham started for Blackburn as she pitched two and a third innings allowing four hits, five runs, five walks and two strikeouts. Hughes pitched in relief and receives the lost. She pitched two and two thirds of an inning allowed eight hits, five runs, and recorded a strikeout. Daniels also pitched in relief as she pitched a inning allowing one hit.
Blackburn College is 12-16 (SLIAC 6-8). Stephens College is 7-37 (AMC).
UP NEXT: The Beavers will travel to Mount Pleasant, Iowa to take on Iowa Wesleyan on Thursday April 25th in a conference doubleheader. The first game starts at 3:00pm.