BENTONVILLE, Ark.- Drury won two of three games at the Alvy Early Tournament in Bentonville, Arkansas, this weekend to improve to 3-3 on the season. The Panthers lost to Texas-Tyler, the number one ranked team nationally in NCAA-II, but then picked up wins against Wayne State (Neb.), and Lincoln (Mo.). Drury's final game of the weekend, a Saturday contest against Northwest Missouri State, was canceled due to cold conditions.
Drury lost their tournament opener on Friday to number one ranked Texas-Tyler 7-1. The game was scoreless going into the fourth when
Lauren Beier gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead on a solo home run. The Patriots responded, though, with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, then put the game away with five more runs in the sixth.
The Panthers bounced back to win their second game on Friday, defeating Wayne State 6-3. Drury scored a run in the second, then took a 4-0 lead in the third on a two-RBI double by
Gena Kulberg and a ground ball by
Hannah Fry that drove in a run.
Kristina Bettis got the win for Drury going six innings and striking out eight.
Bettis returned to pitch on Saturday and tied a program record with 12 strikeouts as she fired a one-hit shutout in a 5-0 win over Lincoln. The Panthers got a run in the second, then scored four in the fifth, highlighted by solo home runs from Leaha Winniger and
Hannah Fry. Bettis went to 2-1 and became the fourth pitching in team history to record a dozen strikeouts in a single game.
Drury improved to 3-3 at the end of the tournament.
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