SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The Drury Panthers split a pair of 1-0 games on Friday in the Drury Classic at Thompson Field as they edged Nebraska-Kearney 1-0 in their first game but were shutout against eighth-ranked Rogers State in their second game, 1-0.
 
For the third-straight game, the Panthers won in their last at-bat as Gracie Thomas belted a home run to left field to give Drury a 1-0 win over Nebraska-Kearney. The junior from Malden, Missouri, belted a 1-1 pitch over the fence for her first homer of the season.
 
Kristina Bettis (6-1) fired a one-hit shutout as she walked five and struck out 14.
 
Eighth-ranked Rogers State got a run in the fourth inning on a ground ball and blanked Drury for a 1-0 in the Panthers' second game on Friday. The Hillcats got runners on base with a hit-batsman and a walk. Drury a force-out at second base on a ground ball, but pinch-runner Rebecca Bell raced home from second and beat the throw home for the winning run.
 
Drury threatened with two on base in the sixth, but a fly ball to right field ended the inning, and the Panthers got a runner aboard in the seventh only to have the game end on a fly to left.
 
Lauren Beier (2-3) took the loss despite going seven innings and allowing just four hits and one run with three walks and three strikeouts. Andrea Morales (10-1) got the shutout victory, surrendering three hits and one walk while striking out seven.
 
The Panthers ended the day 10-6. Nebraska-Kearney fell to 10-16, and Rogers State went to 15-2.
 
The tournament continues at Thompson Field on Saturday as Drury takes on Northeastern State at 2 pm, then 13^th ranked Central Oklahoma at 4 pm.
 
 
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