Pride sweep rescheduled road trip to Culver-Stockton

CANTON, Mo. - Pushing the originally planned doubleheader from this past Saturday to Monday afternoon, the Clarke University softball team was able to win a pair of road games at Culver-Stockton College by final scores of 4-2 and 15-8.

Game one was more of a pitcher's duel between starters Meredith Gatto and Cabria Childers as both got into the fifth inning at a 1-1 tie after a pair of RBI singles earlier in the game, CU's coming off the bat of Hannah Palzkill in the fourth inning to make the score tied at 1-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Wildcats got a solo home run to center that broke the tie and gave CSC their second one-run lead of the game before the top of the sixth had the Pride tie the game and eventually take their first lead of the game after Kynadee Harris tied it on a sacrifice fly followed by a two-out, bases empty rally started by singles from Olivia Sikora and Palzkill ahead of Sydney Wilson to produce a pinch hit two-RBI double and put Clarke up by the eventual final of 4-2.

Gatto got an out in the bottom of the sixth and was then removed for Ellie Flanagan, who got the final five outs of the game for her first save of the season with Gatto going 5.1 innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts while Flangan allowed two hits in her 1.2 innings to pick up that save.

The bats very much came alive in game two as the Pride scored at least two runs in each of the first five innings, including a big five-run fifth to answer a six-run bottom of the fourth from Culver-Stockton that took a 10-8 game at the time to make it 15-8 for a little more cushion to close out the final three defensive innings scoreless.

Palzkill continued to swing it with three hits after her two-hit game one as the senior from DeWitt, Iowa drove in four runs with RBI singles in the third and fourth innings then a two-RBI single to cap off that five-run fifth as both Oakleigh Harman and Lauren Hefel each driving in three runs in the game, Hefel doubling home two in the second and singling home another in the third then Harman driving in two with a single in the first then her other RBI came via a fifth inning fielder's choice.

Both Kaylie Holtam and Teal Transburg produced a three-hit game in the finale with Holtam scoring three times and driving in another and Transburg's spot scoring three times, twice via pinch runners scoring, and she drove in another run herself.

In the circle, Emma Slayback was able to get all but two outs in the game, getting removed from the game to start the fourth with a 10-2 lead, but being forced back into action later in the inning to re-enter after the Wildcats made it 10-5 and still had bases loaded with two outs, but Slayback was able to get out of the inning still up two.

Slayback's final line finished at 6.1 innings pitched, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts to pick up her eighth pitching win of the season as she essentially picked up a win and a save in her outing, but not officially getting a save since she already earned the win.

Clarke softball will return to their home field of Veterans Memorial Park for the next three doubleheader matchups in the Heart, starting with a Saturday afternoon meeting against Missouri Baptist University slated for a first pitch of 1:00 p.m. CT between the Pride and Spartans.