Drury University Athletics

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury swept Southwest Baptist on their last day of the regular season to clinch a spot in the GLVC postseason.
 
GAME ONE – Drury 4, Southwest Baptist 3 (F/8)
Jordyn Foley was the game one starter for the Panthers, and she found herself in a jam in the first inning. After striking out two of the first three batters, Foley walked the bases loaded. A mound visit was called for Foley to regroup. The next batter she put down in three pitches for her third strikeout of the inning.
 
The Bearcats scored first in the first game. SBU had back-to-back infield singles in the third inning to bring up Emily Titus. Titus would single to center field to score Keeley Elsea from second and the game's first run. Drury got out of the inning with the first of four double plays in the game.
 
Drury responded to the run for SBU with two of their own in the bottom of the third inning. A one-out double from Emma Niemczyk and a steal of third while Landry Cochran was at bat was the Panthers' first base runner of the inning. Cochran tripled on the seventh pitch of her at-bat to score Niemczyk. Claire Nelson followed it up with a sac fly to bring Cochran in.
 
The Panthers added one in the fourth with a bases-loaded walk.
 
Southwest Baptist knotted the game at three in the top of the fifth following two singles and a double.
 
Still tied at three, SBU had a chance for a go-ahead run in the top of the seventh after getting two runners in scoring position with two outs. Foley was able to get out of it and force a pop-up.
 
Into extra innings, after Drury got out of the top of the eighth with an inning-ending double play, Drury had a chance to win it in the bottom half. Kelsey Palmer singled to start the inning and advanced to second on a sac bunt from Natalie Wilks. Haley Bryant was hit by the next pitch to bring up Reece Anderson. Anderson hit a bloop single to load the bases with one out. After taking a first pitch strike, Gabrielle Bax drove the next pitch she saw over the head of the center fielder to push Palmer across and walk off the Bearcats, 4-3.
 
GAME ONE NOTES

• The walk-off was Drury's third walk-off of the season; the most recent was Reece Anderson's homer against Ouachita Baptist on March 24.
• Drury turned a single-game record four double plays in game one. The record of three had stood since April 25, 2019, when the Panthers turned three against Southwest Baptist.
• Southwest Baptist outhit Drury 11 to 8.
• Emma Niemczyk and Kelsey Palmer each had two hits in the game.
• Landry Cochran had two RBIs in the game.
• Cochran's triple was her fifth of the season and seventh of her career. She now ranks tied for fourth in career triples and second in single-season triples at Drury.
• Keeley Elsea led SBU with three hits.
• Jordyn Foley was the winning pitcher after striking out six batters. The win was her 13th of the season, the 8th most in a single season at Drury, and her 23rd career Drury win, sixth most in program history.
• SBU threw three pitchers: Abby Leer, Lindsey Essary, and Cambri Van Loo. Van Loo was the losing pitcher after giving up the walk-off to Bax.
• Drury improves to 2-3 in extra-inning games this season.

 
GAME TWO – Drury 5, Southwest Baptist 4
The game one walk-off carried momentum into game two. The Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning courtesy of a two-RBI single from Kelsey Palmer with the bases loaded.
 
It did not take long for SBU to tie it up at two and take the lead. The Bearcats scored one in the top of the second and two in the top of the third to take a 3-2 lead, after two errors hurt Drury.
 
Reece Anderson got Drury's first hit since the first inning to lead off the fifth inning. Anderson advanced to second on the sac bunt from Gabrielle Bax, setting up Emma Niemczyk with a runner in scoring position. Niemczyk would single to allow Anderson to score. The Panther offense stayed on a roll in the fifth inning. After a double steal from Niemczyk and Cochran, Kaley Adzick had an infield single to score both Niemczyk and Cochran and take a 5-3 lead.
 
Two runs did not faze SBU. Graccee Brockman hit the second homer of the day for the Bearcats in the top of the sixth inning to tighten the game, 5-4.
 
Down to their final three outs, SBU was able to have two runners reach base but were unable to tie it or take the lead, giving Drury the 5-4 win.
 
GAME TWO NOTES

• The win clinched Drury a spot in the GLVC Tournament for the seventh straight season, not including the 2020 shortened COVID season.
• The hits in game two were tied at seven apiece.
• Two of the seven hits came from Kelsey Palmer for Drury. Palmer extended her hitting streak to eight games. Palmer also led Drury with two RBIs.
• Keeley Elsea led SBU with two hits and a solo home run.
• Kaley Adzick picked up the complete game win. It was Adzick's 22nd in her Drury career.
• With three strikeouts, Adzick is now six strikeouts away from reaching the 100 mark this season.
• Taylor Howard was the losing pitcher for SBU after 4.1 innings of work, allowing five runs (three earned) and three walks.
• Only one lead-off batter reached base for Drury in game two, Reece Anderson, in the fifth inning.
• Emma Niemczyk had three hits across both games of the doubleheader, bringing her season total to 47. It is the fourth-most for a freshman in program history.
• After both games, the Panthers are now 10-14 in one-run games, with the last eight games all being decided by one run.

 
UP NEXT
The rest of the league regular season ends on Sunday. Following the conclusion of all games, the GLVC will release the bracket for the conference tournament in East Peoria, Illinois, starting on May 6.
 
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