LEBANON, Ill. – Drury finished their weekend road trip to the St. Louis area with a split against No. 16 McKendree. The Panthers finished the day with an improved record of 11-15 and 4-4 in the GLVC.
 
GAME ONE – Drury 5, No. 16 McKendree 0
One day after throwing her second no-hitter of the season, Sami Huck was back in the circle to face a Drury team that was coming off a game two win against Maryville on Saturday.
 
After the Panthers went down on nine pitches to open the game, the Bearcats were able to get one runner on in their half of the first before an inning-ending double play got Drury out of trouble against one of the top offenses in the GLVC.
 
Drury had their first opportunity to score in the fourth inning. With two outs, Claire Nelson singled up the middle to bring Kaley Adzick to the box. The first pitch that Adzick saw, she hit into center field just past the diving Laynee Tapp in center field. The single would advance Nelson to third. Adzick and Nelson would be left stranded as Drury was within striking distance.
 
The Panthers broke through in the fifth. A lead-off single from Haley Bryant started the inning. Following back-to-back sac bunts from Reece Anderson and Gabrielle Bax, Bryant found herself on third. Emma Niemczyk would battle off three pitches before singling through the left side of the infield to score Bryant. Drury's offense did not stop there. Niemczyk would score from first in the next at-bat on an RBI double from Isabel Ervin to put the Panthers up 2-0.
 
Kaley Adzick kept the McKendree offense in check throughout the game with the help of defensive web gems from a diving Emma Niemczyk and a leaping Reece Anderson in the sixth inning.
 
The icing was put on top in the seventh inning for the Panthers. A Niemczyk single and steal brought Isabel Ervin up. Ervin would work a full count walk to put runners on first and second with two outs. Digging in, Claire Nelson would hit her second career home run to deep center field for the insurance that Drury needed late in the game.
 
Adzick and the Drury defense shut the Bearcats down in the bottom of the seventh to take the 5-0 win.
 
GAME ONE NOTES

• Drury out-hit McKendree nine hits to three.
• Three Panthers had two hits in the game: Emma Niemczyk, Claire Nelson, and Kaley Adzick.
• The home run from Nelson was her second career home run.
• Two of the three hits for McKendree came from Laynee Tapp. Tapp also stole two bases in the game.
• Kaley Adzick was the pitcher of record for Drury, picking up her fourth win of the season, bringing her one win away from being in the top ten in program history in wins for a pitcher; she currently has 17.
• The complete game shutout for Adzick was her first of the season as she struck out two in the game.
• The regaining national pitcher of the week, Sami Huck, struck out 12 batters. It was her fifth time this season that she had struck out at least ten batters.
• Drury was able to get all five runs on Huck; it was the first time in Huck's last four appearances for Huck that she had given up a run.
• All five of Drury's runs came with two outs. In the game, the Panthers were 6-for-13 with two outs.
• Only one lead-off hitter for Drury reached base, Haley Bryant, in the seventh inning.
• The win for Drury was the third win of the season for the Panthers against a top-25 team.
• The Panthers are 5-2 in game one of doubleheaders this season.

 
GAME TWO – No. 16 McKendree 10, Drury 6
Entering game two, Drury was in search of their first sweep of the season as McKendree was trying not to get swept for the first time this season.
 
Jumping to the top of the third inning, back-to-back singles from Emma Niemczyk and Isabel Ervin had Claire Nelson in the box with two outs. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Nelson would single into center field to score Niemczyk for the game's first run.
 
Unlike game one, McKendree was able to respond to Drury's score. With the bases loaded, Laynee Tapp would reach on a fielder's choice that drove in Ryliegh Albers. The Bearcats took the lead the next at-bat with another fielder's choice to score Sami Huck to give McKendree a 2-1 advantage.
 
McKendree opened up the game in the bottom half of the fourth with a lead-off home run from Trista Moore and a grand slam from Lauren Harris for the Bearcats to grow their lead to six runs, 7-1.
 
The Drury offense clawed its way slowly back into the game in the second half of the sixth. A single and an error put Haley Bryant on second. She would score on an RBI double from Reece Anderson. Gabrielle Bax drove Anderson in from second the next at-bat on a single into center field. An infield single on a bunt from Emma Niemczyk put two runners on for Isabel Ervin. After seeing a first-pitch ball, Ervin would lift the next pitch over the center field wall to bring Drury within one run, 7-6.
 
One run was too close for comfort for the Bearcats. McKendree added three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the game out of reach for Drury, 10-6.
 
GAME TWO NOTES

• Drury had 16 hits in the loss, their first time this season with over 15 hits in a game.
• Emma Niemczyk and Haley Bryant were each responsible for three of the 16 hits.
• Half of the hits came from the top three in the Drury order: Niemczyk, Isabel Ervin, and Landry Cochran. Madi Divis recorded a single as a pinch hit for Cochran.
• Eight of the nine starters in Drury's lineup had at least one hit.
• Ervin's home run was her first career homer.
• McKendree had ten hits in the game, none bigger than the grand slam from Lauren Harris, one of her two hits.
• Jordyn Foley was given the loss in the circle. Foley allowed four runs in four innings of work. She struck out three batters.
• Olivia Tipton was the winning pitcher for McKendree. The win was the freshman's fifth of the season.
• Three assists from Reece Anderson in game two moved her to fourth all-time in program history in career assists. She currently has 247.
• With Isabel Ervin and Claire Nelson each recording a hit in game two, they have extended their on-base streaks to six games apiece.
• The Panthers are now 3-2 in games against ranked opponents this season.
• Drury has split every doubleheader they have played this season, seven of them.

 
UP NEXT
Drury returns to Thompson Field on March 24 to start an eight-game homestand with a doubleheader against Ouachita Baptist.
 
FOLLOW THE PANTHERS
For all the latest information on Drury athletics, please visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X, Facebook, and Instagram.