SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Beginning the spring trip portion of the 2018 schedule, the No. 24 nationally-ranked Cardinal Softball team had a pair of games at the University of Illinois-Springfield on Friday (Mar. 2) afternoon. The two teams traded victories on the day, with the home team coming away with a 6-1 win in the opener before the Cardinals posted a 7-1 decision in the nightcap.
Game 1 - (L, 6-1)
The lone run for the Cards came in the top of the 1st inning. After an Evy Lobdell single, Meredith Rousse double and Courtney Reeves walk, the bases were juiced for Aubree Mouthaan. She would draw a walk, earning an RBI and giving the visitors the 1-0 lead.
UIS responded with a single run in the bottom of the 2nd to knot the game at 1-1. It then went for five runs in the home half of the 3rd, opening up the game with the 6-1 lead.
That's where the score remained throughout game one, with the Prairie Stars coming away with the five-run win.
Mouthaan had the only RBI on the walk while Rousse went 2-for-3 in the only multiplt hit effort. Lobdell, Maddy Burgess, Lauren Bachert and Becky Corbett had the other hits for SVSU.
Mikayla Alexandrou (1-1) took the loss pitching, allowing five runs in 2.0 innings. Kasey Bagelmann worked the other 4.0 innings, allowing a single run and striking-out three.
Game 2 (W, 7-1)
Saginaw Valley got out to an early 1-0 lead again in the second game. That run came when Lobdell doubled home Burgess, who singled to lead-off the contest.
Two more came the Cardinals' way in the top of the 3rd after Rousse scored on an error and Julia Miller brought home Reeves. That pushed the SV lead to 3-0.
The 5th inning saw SV add four more runs, putting the lead at 7-0 in the Cardinals' favor. Julia Salisbury collected her first RBI when she drove home Reeves for the first run. Bachert then drove-in Alex Roob and Aubree Mouthaan with a double. The final run for the visitors came when Corbett had an RBI double that pushed Bachert across.
UIS got their final run in the home half of the 6th inning, which would finish the scoring and put the final count at 7-1 in SVSU's favor.
Bachert had two hits with a double, pair of RBI and run scored. Corbett was 2-3 with a double and RBI. Rousse and Burgess were each 2-4 with a run, as Rousse added a double and Burgess a stolen base. Lobdell had a double and RBI, as did Salisbury. Miller added the other RBI for SV. Reeves went 1-1 with a double, two walks and a pair of runs scored in the nightcap.
Anna Conard improved to 2-0 on the season, tossing her second complete game victory in as many tries. She allowed a single run on six hits, striking-out two and walking two.
Up Next...
SVSU is off Saturday before traveling to Truman State University for a Sunday (Mar. 4) doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. eastern time against the Bulldogs. Follow live on svsucardinals.com.
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