Pride suffer pair of losses to No. 8 Missouri Baptist

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Adjusting the first half of their final home weekend due to the recent rain showers in Dubuque, the Clarke University softball team faced off against No. 8 Missouri Baptist University at Mount Mercy's Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex on Thursday morning and afternoon and suffered 8-0 and 10-1 losses.

The Pride offense was held to just five hits over the 10 total innings in the pair of five-inning losses with Kaylie Holtam going 1-for-2 in each game to finish with two of the five hits and the only hit in game one while game two had Kennedi LeDuff, Olivia Sikora, and Savannah Roberts each record a hit with Roberts scoring the day's lone run on a Teal Transburg RBI ground out in the third inning to make it 4-1 at the time.

Between the two starting pitchers for the Spartans in the two games, each earned their five-inning complete game wins in different ways with game one starter Brooklynn Fischer striking out 11 CU hitters out of the 15 outs recorded while Kaylie Brake pitched around a lot of traffic in game two allowing five walks with the four hits and three strikeouts, but was able to avoid significant scoring in any inning.

Clarke softball will hope to return home for their Senior Day games on Sunday, Apr. 19 when they welcome William Woods University to Veterans Memorial Park for a 1:00 p.m. CT doubleheader.