EAST PEORIA, Ill.— Drury fell in their second elimination game of the Great Lakes Conference Valley Tournament in 11 innings to Lewis on Saturday, 4-3 at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Illinois.  
 
The Panthers found life early with a lead-off double by AJ Agers in the second inning. Catcher Gracie Thomas drove her in with a two out single to center to give Drury a 1-0 lead. Lewis responded in the bottom half of the inning with an Evie Calderon solo homer that tied the game at 1-1.
 
Both sides had solid pitching that made runs hard to obtain, but the Panthers were able to score again in the 6th inning when Rylee Kolb doubled to left to start the inning. Lauren Beier drove in Kolb on a line drive single up the middle, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
 
Drury quickly added another run in the 7th to make it a 3-1 ballgame before Lewis scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning with a late rally, tying the game at 3-3 and forced extra innings. 
 
Both pitchers continued to shut down any offensive assault until Payton Wuske bunted in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning to seal the victory for Lewis.
 
Allie Wondrasek (15-3) tossed all 11 innings for the Flyers, allowing three runs and two earned runs while striking out 10. Kristina Bettis went 8.1 innings for the Panthers, allowing 4 runs and striking out four batters. 
 
The Flyers advance to the next round of the tournament and will now take on Missouri S&T.
 
Drury's 30 wins in 2024 are the fourth most in program history.
 
Saturday's game was moved to 9 am due to the threat of inclement weather in central Illinois in the late afternoon and evening hours.
 
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