TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The pitching performances shined on Saturday from Terre Haute, Indiana as the Drake softball team split a doubleheader against Indiana State. The Bulldogs took game one of the day, 2-1, and lost game two, 1-0.
Drake 2, Indiana State 1
The first pitching matchup of the day brought
Jayme Scheck for Drake and Indiana State's Lauren Sackett together and the two did not disappoint. The dueling arms both tossed a complete game from the circle, but it was Scheck that picked up the win.
Scheck battled to a final line of six hits, one run allowed (not earned), four strikeouts, and no walks. Sackett meanwhile tallied four hits, two runs (one earned), five walks and two strikeouts.
Even though the Bulldog offense only tallied four hits, all of which were by
Ava Husak and
Kiley Kindelspire, it was Husak that put the Dogs on the board to break a scoreless tie in the fourth inning off a solo shot. Kindelspire's hits came in the first with a single and in the fifth with a double.
The Sycamores tied the game in the bottom of the fourth following the Husak homer with a double, but the decisive play came in the top of the seventh.
Emily Veschak led off the frame for Drake and moved all the way to third following a sacrifice bunt and an advancement off a fly out. In the next at-bat a fielding error by the Sycamores allowed Veschak to race home for the go-ahead run.
In the last chance for Indiana State, Scheck shutdown the Sycamores retiring the side in order to secure the win.
Indiana State 1, Drake 0
While the Drake offense did produce more hits in game two with seven, it ultimately didn't lead to any runs. Megan Asher stymied the Bulldog bats to a shutout loss in her complete game outing with three strikeouts and one walk.
Peyton Driscoll was Drake's starting pitcher, and she followed in Scheck's footsteps with her own impressive performance. The juniors final line read 6.1 innings pitched, eight hits, one earned run, and six strikeouts.
The scoreboard remained at 0-0 all the way until the bottom of the seventh when it was Indiana State that took advantage of a Drake error to score the winning run. Bella Pusateri led off with a single and, much like Veschak in game one, she was quickly on third after an error and advancement off a fly out. A Morgan Goodrich base knock then brought in Pusateri for the walk-off winner.
Drake and Indiana State will end the series tomorrow with a single contest at 11:00 a.m.
