MANSFIELD, Texas – Drury softball finished its opening weekend in Mansfield, Texas, on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers picked up their first win of the season against Midwestern State before falling to Southern Arkansas.
 
GAME ONE
On the final day of the Lone Star Classic, both Drury and Midwestern State started the game slowly, offensively, until the third inning when Kirsten Peterson would reach second on an error by the Mustang's left fielder. She would be run for by Mykala Dodds. Dodds would advance to third on a Kaley Adzick groundout before being stranded as the next two Panthers go down with strikeouts.
 
Neither team would threaten to score until the fifth inning. The fifth started with Peterson getting on base with a single up the middle. She would move to second following an Adzick single into center field. Drury would get on the board two batters later with a Gabrielle Bax double to score Peterson from second. The Panthers would not go any more to the board in the fifth but held a 1-0 advantage.
 
Avery Budde allowed only three hits up until the sixth inning. In the sixth, she got the first two Mustangs to ground out before giving up a single to right field from Chipper Mayorga. The single called for a pitching change for Drury, bringing in Kaley Adzick. Adzick would give up a walk before striking out Paige Scanlin and getting out of the jam unscathed.
 
The Panthers were unable to get any offense in the top of the seventh with a one-run lead. In the bottom of the inning, Midwestern State led off with a single into right field and a fielder's choice to put two runners on. Drury would get two outs before Sydnie Rios singled from right center to push across a run for the Mustangs and send the game to extra innings.
 
Gabrielle Bax was placed on second to start the eighth, for the international tie breaker. Haley Bryant was due to leadoff for the Panthers and worked a full count before flying out to center field, allowing Bax to advance to third. Budde would line out to left, bringing up Claire Nelson. Nelson would double to the fence and score Bax, giving Drury a 2-1 edge needing only three outs.
 
Adzick would shut down the Mustangs in order to secure the first win of the season for the Panthers.
 
GAME ONE NOTES

• Claire Nelson, for the second consecutive game, had multiple hits. Against Midwestern State, Nelson was two for four with an RBI from the DP position.
• In the batter's box, Kaley Adzick was two for three. In the circle, Adzick threw 2.1 innings, allowed two hits, one run, and struck out three. She was given the win, her 14th in her Drury career.
• Adzick needed just two outs to reach 200 career innings pitched in her college career. She threw 92.2 during her time at Webster and is now at 109 with Drury. Her first hit against Midwestern State was her 100th career hit.
• Avery Budde started the game for the Panthers. Budde pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four hits, no runs, and walking one.
• Chipper Mayorga was the only Mustang with at least two hits. She was two for four with a double.
• Sydnie Rios had the lone RBI for Midwestern State, scoring Hayeli Acosta.
• Kayleigh Bowers pitched the entire game for the Mustangs, picking up her second loss of the season.
• All three runs scored in the game came with two outs.
• Drury out-hit Midwestern State eight to six.
• Seven of Drury's hits came with at least one runner on. The Panthers were 7 for 24 with runners on.
• The win was the 98th in Brooke Gajewski's coaching career.
• Drury now holds a 3-1 on-field record against Midwestern State all-time.

 
GAME TWO
Southern Arkansas struck first in the final game of the Lone Star Classic. A leadoff single for Regan Dillon, followed by two outs, brought up Kelsi Adams in the bottom of the first inning. A dropped foul out gave Adams a second life in her at-bat. She would draw a ball and then homer to left field and give the Muleriders an early two-run advantage.
 
Drury responded in the next half inning. Claire Nelson picked up her sixth hit of the weekend with a single. After a strikeout, Kenna Trower reached second after a throwing error by Southern Arkansas's third baseman, and Emma Niemczyk, running for Nelson, to third base. With two runners in scoring position, Madi Divis would see four pitches before she took the fifth pitch to deep center field for her first career home run, giving Drury a 3-2 lead.
 
After an explosive first inning and a half, the offenses went quiet until the bottom of the fourth. Southern Arkansas reached base on a walk and a single to put runners on the corners for Payton Owens. She would put the ball in the air for a sac fly to score Paris Endris. The Muleriders would take the lead the next at-bat with an Ava Marie Perry single into center field that scored Jenny Bouthillier.
 
Looking to tie it up, the Panthers were unable to get another runner on base until the seventh inning with a Kenna Trower lead-off infield single. Trower would not move from first as the next three Panthers were unable to advance her, ending the game with a Southern Arkansas 4-3 win.
 
GAME TWO NOTES

• Claire Nelson, Kenna Trower, and Madi Divis were the only Drury hitters to get a hit. They each recorded one.
• Divis had a three-run home run for her first home run at Drury.
• Jordyn Foley started for Drury in the circle. Foley pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs and walking two. She was the pitcher of record, falling to 0-1.
• Natalie Wilks relieved Foley, throwing 1.2 innings, walking three.
• Regan Dillon and Ava Marie Perry both had two hits for Southern Arkansas.
• Kelsi Adams had one hit in the game, the first inning two-run homer.
• Emma Duncan was the winning pitcher, striking out nine Panthers in six innings.
• Addie Morris recorded the save in three outs of work.
• Drury struck out 11 times in the game. Southern Arkansas did not strike out a single time.
• The Muleriders scored three runs in the game with two outs.

 
UP NEXT
Drury will stay on the road next weekend as they head south to Bentonville for the Alvy Memorial Classic. The Panthers will have four games starting with Central Missouri on Feb. 6.
 
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