The Blackburn Softball Team dropped a double header to the visiting Fontbonne Griffins, by scores of 9-4 and 9-3, on March 20th, 2019. The games took place at 4:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m., at Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illiinois.
Early in the first game, Fontbonne jumped ahead in the top of the first inning, scoring two runs on a home run by Maddy Strickland. Blackburn answered by cutting the lead in half, scoring one in the bottom of the first, courtesy of a double by Halle Fransen, which scored Megan Moseley. Fontbonne extended their lead in the top of the second inning, scoring two more, leading Blackburn 4-1 after two innings. The Beavers took matters into their own hands following the second inning, scoring 2 more in the bottom of the third inning on a two run homer by Fransen. Fontbonne answered back quickly, scoring another run in the top of the fourth and the top of the fifth on mutliple hits. Fransen again came in clutch for the Beavers in the bottom of the fifth, doubling again to score another run. However, mutliple Fontbonne players stringed together hits that allowed the Griffins to extend their lead beyond reach for the Beavers in the top of the seventh inning. Pitching for the Beavers was led by Halle Fransen, who pitched five innings and allowed five earned runs, striking out one and walking two. Holly Jones came in relief for the Beavers, pitching two innings and allowing three earned runs. Diamond Thomas got the win for the Griffins. She pitched seven innings, allowing only four runs. She walked one and struck out eight batters.
The second game was in the favor of the Beavers from the beginning. Blackburn quickly took the lead in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs on a home run by Brooke Daniels. The Griffins took a few innings to respond, but tied the game up in the top of the third on a single by Maddy Strickland. Gracie Morris then homered in the top of the fourth inning to give Fontbonne a 3-2 lead. The Griffins had control for the remainder of the game. Multiple RBI's were scored by multiple Fontbonne players, eventually giving them a comfortable 9-2 lead in the top of the fourth. The Beavers tried to spark more life in the bottom of the fourth inning, managing to score a run on an RBI single by Haley Shull. Sadly, due to unfortunate lighting issues, the game was called after the fifth inning. The pitching for the Beavers was done by Kaitlyn Wade, who pitched three innings. She allowed eight runs, eleven hits and struck out one. Brooke Daniels came in for relief for Wade, pitching just over one inning, walking one, striking out two and allowing two hits. The Griffins pitcher, Lexi Becker, pitched five innings, walked one and struck out none. She allowed just three runs, and seven hits.
The Beavers will be looking to bounce back from these games, and will be playing their next game on Saturday, March 23rd, 2019 at Eureka College, starting at 12:00 p.m.