SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Abbey McAteer went 4-for-5 with 5 RBIs, and scored three runs to lead the Panthers to a pair of run rule wins, 12-0 over Wayne State and 9-0 over Lincoln in opening day action of the Drury Invitational.

In the opener, Drury erupted for six runs on four hits in the bottom half of the third frame. An RBI double by Grace King that scored two Panthers started the DU scoring.  A bases loaded walk to McAteer extended the Panther lead to 3-0.  Madoline Seumalo smacked an RBI single and the Panthers finished the inning with a Devin Hale RBI hit that plated two Drury runs.

In the fourth the Panthers struck again and scored six runs on five hits and an error highlighted by a pair of RBI doubles from Kinzy Mathis and Lauren Beier to seal the game and claim a 12-0 blanking over Wayne State.

McAteer led the Panthers at the plate and went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and scored twice. Drury outhit Wayne by a 10-4 tally and pitcher Kasey Cazares (4-2) earned the win with a five innings of action and a pair of Ks.

In the nightcap, Drury went up 3-0 after two innings, King scored on an error in the first and an RBI foul ball by Devin Hale and an RBI single by McAteer pushed the Panther lead to 3-0 after the second inning.

The Panther offense continued to plate runs in the third when they scored four runs on four hits to push their lead to a commanding 7-0 margin.  Madison Hecker blasted a homer to left to give the Panthers their second run rule win of the day, 9-0 over Lincoln.

McAteer went 2-for-3 in the nightcap in the Panthers eight hit victory with Haylee Van Deventer remaining unbeaten on the mound (3-0).

The Drury softball team returns to action on Saturday, February 29^th when they will host NW Missouri State and Northeastern State with game times set for 2 and 4 p.m.