[Softball] Softball Splits to Close Out Wichita Trip

Doane Softball closed out the Friends Invite on Saturday with a pair of games, resulting in a 9-4 win over Clarke and a 12-11 loss to St. Mary (Kan.) in eight innings. Doane is 9-8 on the season following the weekend.

Game One
Threes were a popular number on the scoreboard as the Tigers recorded three three-run innings and Clarke had one. The Pride started the scoring with a run in the bottom of the 1st inning on three hits and a Tiger error to open the game. A double play turned by Doane helped the Tigers escape any further damage.

In the 3rd inning, both teams plated three runs. Kayla Miller (FR/Yuciapa, Cali.) tied the game with a RBI on a fielder's choice as Jade Hill (FR/San Diego, Calif.) beat a throw to the plate. A wild pitch allowed Kailyn Wiseman (JR/Sutton, Neb.) to score and give Doane the lead. Shelby Downard (SO/Marysville, Kan.) added an infield single to plate Miller. In the bottom of the inning, the Pride were powered by a three-run home run to regain the lead, 4-3.

The Tigers found their home run swing in the 5th inning as Downard connected for a three-run blast. In the 6th inning, Megan Elliott (FR/Simi Valley, Calif.) singled to plate Angelina Esqueda (FR/Las Vegas, Nev.). Downard then followed with her second home run of the game, a two-run shot.

Downard finished the game 4-for-4 with two runs scored and six RBIs, one shy of the school record. Hill, Wiseman, and Elliott added two hits apiece as Doane pounded out 13 hits in the game.

Josie Schnakenberg (JR/Wahoo, Neb.) picked up the win for Doane in the circle, throwing 6.0 innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out five. Cecily Kaluza (JR/Vallejo, Calif.) threw the final inning, allowing a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

Game Two
The final game of the invitational was a back-and-forth slugfest. There were four lead changes over the course of the game with the final one proving to be the difference.

St. Mary scored the first runs of the game with three in the 1st inning on a bases-clearing double with two outs. Doane came back and tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Haley Kennedy (JR/Lincoln, Neb.) drove in one run and Wiseman added a two-run single.

The Tigers took their first lead of the game in the 3rd inning by pushing five runs across the plate. Kennedy delivered a bases-clearing triple to plate three runs. On a Wiseman double, Hill pulled into third base but then was able to score as the Spires tried to throw Wiseman out at second base. Esqueda followed with a RBI-single.

The Spires regained the lead with a seven-run inning in the 4th. Doane scored a run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Wiseman to pull Doane within a run, 10-9.

In the 5th, the Tigers went back in front with two runs on a home run by Elliott. The Spires tied the game with a run in the 6th and took the lead in the 8th on a two-out single. Doane left the tying run at third base as the game ended.

Wiseman and Kennedy recorded three hits apiece for the Tigers with Kennedy driving in four runs and Wiseman plating three runs. Doane finished with 11 hits in the game.

Downard started in the circle for the Tigers, allowing eight runs (seven earned) in 3.1 innings on nine hits. Emily Haines (FR/Folsom, Calif.) allowed two unearned runs in 0.1 inning and Ashley Jacobson (JR/Omaha, Neb.) allowed one run in 2.1 innings. Josie Schnakenberg took the loss by allowing one unearned run in 1.0 inning. She recorded the only two strikeouts in the game for Doane pitching.