BRANSON, Mo. – Drury dropped their first two games of the season to Arkansas Tech and #20 Southern Nazarene on day one of the Branson Lead-Off Classic on Friday.
Game 1 vs Arkansas Tech
The first two innings were quiet for both teams as they looked to find their footing in the cold drizzle.
Once the third inning rolled around, chaos ensued for the Panthers. Arkansas Tech got its first hitter on base after a leadoff walk. This led to Drury's three errors in the inning, which gave the Golden Suns six runs.
Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Drury started to put the pressure on ATU.
Natalie Wilks leads off with a double into the right field corner that is bobbled and puts her on third.
Landry Cochran was able to help the cause and get the run-in.
After Arkansas Tech put another one up in the top half of the fifth, the Panthers would respond with three of their own kick-started by a walk from
Sophia Luetticke. Luetticke, Wilks, and Cochran would all score in the inning to make it an 8-4 game.
Down four heading into the final half inning, Drury gave ATU all they could handle.
Avery Budde would reach first followed by Cochran singling up the middle to put two on.
Victoria Garland was able to get a fly ball to right field to advance both runners into scoring position. Drury would go down on two straight strikeouts to end the game.
Landry Cochran led game one by going 2-3 with a run scored and one walk. As a team, Drury had five hits and five errors.
Game 2 vs #20 Southern Nazarene
Southern Nazarene showed early why they are preseason favorites to win the Great American Conference (GAC). The Crimson Storm were aggressive in the first inning, jumping on pitches early in the count, leading to a double and a single to put runners on the corners. SNU would put on a double steal to get an early lead, 1-0.
Drury's best opportunity to combat the early run came in the second inning when an SNU error put two runners in scoring position. The freshman,
Isabel Ervin, would then get hit two pitches later to load the bases with two outs. The Panthers would fail at pushing any across after two straight strikeouts to end the inning.
After that first inning, Drury was able to hold Southern Nazarene in check until the fifth inning. SNU played small ball to score three runs via two sacrifice bunts and four hits.
The Crimson Storm would score one more before it was over and win 5-0.
Drury was held to one hit in the game, which came from
Reece Anderson who was 1-2 in the game.
UP NEXT
Drury returns to Branson tomorrow afternoon for their final day in the Branson Lead-Off Classic. The Panthers will play against Oklahoma Baptist and East Central at 2 pm and 4 pm.
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