The William Jewell College softball team opened the 2016 season at the Arkansas Monticello Eight State Classic on Friday in Bentonville, Ark. The Cardinals opened the year with an extra inning 7-6 loss to Missouri Southern prior to falling to Northeastern State (Okla.) 10-2 in five innings.
Missouri SouthernThe Lions opened the game with three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a quick lopsided lead. The Cardinals got one run back on a
Morgan Olson single that scored
Phoebe Dabbour. Jewell tied the game in the third before senior
Nona Pauline blasted the first long ball of the season in the fifth inning to score herself along with
Madi Giles to give the Cards a 5-3 lead.
With Jewell up 6-3, MSSU rallied to score three and tie the game at six. Neither team could score in the seventh forcing the contest into extra innings. With the international tie breaker rule in affect the Cardinals moved the runner to third with one out but could not score. In the bottom half of the frame, the Lions' Angel Badalamente ripped an RBI single to right center scoring Alana Hester to give MSSU the 7-6 victory.
In total, the Lions out hit Jewell 9-6 while swiping five bases. Pauline led the Cards with two RBI, on a home run and two walks.
Freshman
Anna Biondo took the loss, going two and one-third innings allowing an unearened on two hits. Senior
Shelby McGraw was the game one starter and surrendered five earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.
Northeastern State After going extra innings in the first game, the second was shortened due to the run-rule as the Cards fell 10-2 in five innings. The RiverHawks jumped on the board early after two base hits scored the game's first run.
The Cardinals tied the game at one as
Maddie Greenstreet scored on a double from
Brooke Bernard. Northeastern tacked on four runs over the next two innings to grab a 5-1 lead. Pauline recorded her third RBI of the day with a single to score
Megan Barnes to pull within three at 5-2 in the bottom of the third. From there however, it was all RiverHawks as NSU piled on five runs in the fourth inning to earn the win.
Greenstreet took the loss in the circle, allowing eight earned runs on seven hits, with four strikeouts, and six walks.
Jewell continues the Eight State Classic tomorrow with two games against Nebraska-Kearney at 9:00 a.m. followed by a matchup with Northwestern Oklahoma State at 5:00 p.m.
