BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Drury softball opened the Alvy Early Memorial Classic on Friday afternoon. The Panthers dropped game one to Central Missouri, 4-2, before bouncing back and winning their first ranked game of the season, 2-1, against No. 24 Missouri Southern.
 
GAME ONE
Following a 1-4 first weekend of the season, Drury was in search of a win. Neither Central Missouri nor Drury was able to push any runs across the plate.
 
The second inning was a completely different story. Gabrielle Bax hit her first career home run to open the scoring, a solo home run to left field. It was the lone Panther run in the second.
 
The Jennies answered back to the Bax bomb with three runs of their own. After a single, a walk, and a hit by pitch loaded the bases, Natalie Wilks entered the game from the bullpen. Wilks got Lexi Blackmon to ground out, but one UCM run came across. The next hitter would single to right field to clear the bases and give the Jennies a 3-1 advantage.
 
Drury only had one base runner over the next two innings before UCM added another to their total. A single and groundout put Blackmon on second. A fielder's choice and an error allowed Blackmon to score the next at-bat for UCM's fourth run of the afternoon.
 
The Panthers were only able to get one run back in the top of the fifth after back-to-back doubles from Isabel Ervin and Claire Nelson cut the Jennie lead to 4-2. Neither team added any other runs the remainder of the game.
 
GAME ONE NOTES

• Kenna Trower led Drury with two hits, her second multi-hit game of the season.
• The top three in the Panthers lineup, Landry Cochran, Isabel Ervin, and Claire Nelson, were a combined 3-for-10 with two walks and two strikeouts.
• Gabrielle Bax's homer was her first as a Drury Panther.
• With two assists in the game, Bax recorded her 100th career assist as a Panther.
• The Panthers had four doubles in the game from Isabel Ervin, Claire Nelson, Kaley Adzick, and Kenna Trower.
• Avery Budde was the Drury pitcher of record. She threw 1.1 innings, allowing three runs and walking two. She is now 0-2 on the season.
• Natalie Wilks threw a bulk of the game for Drury. Wilks pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four hits and one unearned run. She struck out five.
• Lexi Blackmon was the only Jennie with two hits in the game.
• UCM drew five walks and only struck out five times. Drury was only rewarded with two walks and struck out eight times.

 
GAME TWO
The second game of the Alvy Early Memorial Classic was against Drury's first-ranked team of the season, No. 24 Missouri Southern.
 
The Lions would lead the game off with a single from Bailey Dillon. Dillon would try to steal two pitches later before being caught stealing from Claire Nelson. MSSU was unable to work anything else on the base paths the rest of the inning.
 
After Drury was unable to push a run across in the bottom of the first, Southern capitalized on a Drury throwing error to score the game's first run.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom half of the second, the Panthers' first two batters went down before a Madi Divis walk. Kaley Adzick would then hit a line shot double to put two runners in scoring position for Reece Anderson. Anderson would pick up her first RBIs of the season on a left-center double to give Drury the 2-1 edge.
 
Only three combined runners would reach third base in the final five innings, making Anderson's second-inning double the game-winner for Drury.
 
GAME TWO NOTES

• Kaley Adzick went 2-for-2 in the game with a run scored.
• Reece Anderson had one hit, the game-winning double in the second inning.
• Jordyn Foley threw a complete game in the win. One run scored on Foley, unearned. She is now 1-1 on the season.
• Emma Niemczyk recorded one stolen base in the game.
• The regaining MIAA Pitcher of the Year, Kiki Pickens, started for the Lions in the circle. Pickens allowed two runs on four hits and struck out eight.
• Not a single Lion recorded more than one hit. The top three in the MSSU lineup had three of the team's six hits.
• Missouri Southern left seven runners on base, and Drury left four on base.
• The win was win 99 in Brooke Gajewski's career.
• Drury is now 1-0 against ranked teams this season after going 4-3 last season.
• The Panthers now trail in the all-time series with MSSU 13 games to 15.

 
UP NEXT
Drury finishes the Alvy Early Memorial Classic tomorrow with games against St. Edward's and Arkansas-Monticello starting at 11 am.
 
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