SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury's offense exploded for 16 total runs in the doubleheader split against Illinois Springfield on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Field. The Panthers now hold a 15-16 record and a 5-5 conference record in the GLVC.
 
GAME ONE – Drury 5, Illinois Springfield 0
Drury found themselves in trouble early in game one of the doubleheader against Illinois Springfield. The Prairie Stars loaded the bases with two outs, but Kaley Adzick was able to strike out Calista Stahlhut to leave the bases loaded and keep UIS off the board in the first.
 
The Panthers were able to strike first in the bottom of the first. With two outs, Drury loaded the bases after a hit by pitch, an infield single, and a walk to bring up Avery Budde. Budde worked a second straight walk from Rosie Bartletti to bring in Haley Bryant and the game's first run.
 
Drury's two-out offense stayed hot in the third inning. Landry Cochran singled for the Panthers with two outs in the bottom half. Cochran would then score on the Avery Budde double into left field. Kaley Adzick drove Budde in the next at-bat to give the Panthers a 3-0 advantage.
 
Kaley Adzick and the Drury defense held Illinois Springfield to two hits the entire game, one in the first inning and the second in the fifth inning. The Prairie Stars were unable to capitalize on their lone hits.
 
The Panthers put insurance runs on the board in the sixth innings with a lead-off home run from Reece Anderson, followed by a double and then a single to score Emma Niemczyk.
 
UIS went down in order in the seventh inning, giving Drury the 5-0.
 
GAME ONE NOTES

• Drury had 11 hits in the game, eight of them from the top five batters in the Panthers' lineup.
• Emma Niemczyk had two doubles and a walk in the game.
• Reece Anderson's sixth-inning home run was her second home run in the last three games. She now leads Drury with three home runs this season.
• Kaley Adzick allowed only two hits, the fewest she has given up in a start this season.
• Adzick went the complete game, improving her record to 5-5. The win moves her tied for tenth all-time in Drury program history with 18 wins, with Laura McCarthy. There are two players tied for eighth with 19 career wins in the circle.
• The GLVC's leader in ERA, Rosie Bartletti, got the start for UIS. Bartletti allowed three runs, five hits, and two walks in the loss.
• Alexis Carroll finished the final three innings in the circle for UIS. She gave up two runs, six hits, and a home run.
• Eight of Drury's 11 hits came with two outs in an inning.
• The Panthers were three-for-six with two outs and at least one runner in scoring position.
• UIS did not have a single hit with a runner on base, zero-for-six.
• Drury improved their record in game one of doubleheaders to 7-2.
• In the win, Drury turned their league-leading 17th double play of the season.

 
GAME TWO – Illinois Springfield 12, Drury 11
Illinois Springfield jumped on Drury early in the second game, scoring four runs in the opening frame behind four hits and three walks from Jordyn Foley.
 
UIS added to their four-run first inning with an RBI triple from Bailey Masching in the second to score Rosie Bartletti and give the Prairie Stars a 5-0 advantage.
 
Drury's bats woke up in the second inning. A lead-off single from Claire Nelson, before advancing to second on a Landry Cochran sac bunt, brought up Avery Budde. The first pitch that Budde saw was doubled down the right field line for Drury's first run. The inning did not end there, as Kenna Trower ran for Budde. Trower would score after a single, and a fielder's choice drove her in.
 
Two runs against UIS gave them more life. The Prairie Stars extended their lead to 10-2 in the third inning, forcing Drury's second pitching change of the afternoon, bringing in Avery Budde. Springfield scored five in the top of the third on three hits, three walks, and one Drury error.
 
The Panthers kept chipping away at their deficit into the bottom of the third. Two doubles from Isabel Ervin and Claire Nelson and a single from Landry Cochran brought Drury within six runs.
 
Avery Budde held UIS scoreless for the first time in game two in the fourth.
 
Drury answered the scoreless inning with four runs to make it 10-8 behind three singles and a double.
 
The UIS offense was not done there; they kept Drury at arm's length on a sac fly out to make it an 11-8 game entering the bottom of the fifth.
 
UIS's pitching staff continued into a downward spiral into the fifth inning, walking five straight Panthers to bring the game within one run, 11-10. After the fifth walk, UIS brought back Rosie Bartletti for the remainder of the game.
 
Barletti would allow just one hit and two total base runners in the two and two-thirds innings she pitched in game two.
 
The Prairie Stars once again pulled away from Drury in the top of the seventh after a lead-off fielding error put Rosie Bartletti on first; she would later score on a sacrifice fly.
 
The Panthers had one final chance in the bottom of the seventh inning, trailing by one. Gabrielle Bax singled and advanced to second on an error in left field before being run for by Jordan Meng. The single brought in Kelsey Palmer, who was a pinch hitter in the third inning for Drury. Palmer singled into left field to score Meng. Still no one out and now Palmer on second and Ervin on first following a second error in the field by UIS, Drury went down on a foul out and two strikeouts to end the game, 12-11.
 
GAME TWO NOTES

• Despite the loss, Drury outhit UIS 12 to eight.
• Kelsey Palmer, Isabel Ervin, Claire Nelson, and Gabrielle Bax each had two hits in the game.
• Palmer also drove in a team-high two runs in the game.
• Bailey Masching had three RBIs for UIS, including an RBI triple.
• Jordyn Foley and Natalie Wilks each only pitched one inning for Drury, giving up a combined nine runs, five hits, and six walks, while striking out one batter.
• Avery Budde stabilized Drury's pitching in the game. She allowed three hits, three runs (two earned), and struck out three batters in the final five innings.
• UIS also had struggles pitching in the game. Calista Stahlhut gave up ten hits, eight runs (seven earned) in her start that lasted 3.2 innings.
• Alexis Carroll relieved Stahlhut but only for two outs as she walked five batters. Carroll was set up for the win but was deemed ineffective, giving Rosie Bartletti the win.
• Barletti closed the final 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, one unearned run, and striking out five batters.
• Drury had two two-out hits in the game; they both came with runners in scoring position.
• UIS, once again, struggled with two outs, only having one hit in such situations.
• Drury has now split eight of their nine doubleheaders this season.

 
UP NEXT
Drury hosts No. 9 Indianapolis Sunday afternoon at Thompson Park for the Strikeout Cancer Pink Out in partnership with the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.
 
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