The Lions softball team recently held their home opening series, which also acted as the Lindenwood Invite, as Lindenwood took on both Bellarmine University and Green Bay.
Lindenwood played each team twice, winning all four games throughout the weekend set.
On Friday, the Lions kicked off their weekend by playing Green Bay and winning by a score of 5-0. Pitcher Amanda Weyh pitched a shutout, allowing only two hits the entire game, and striking out eight batters. The decisive run scored in the second inning on a Mya Bethany RBI walk, but the Lions were able to add four more runs in the fifth inning. Dallis Darnell and Weyh both drove in two runs in the inning, Darnell on a double and Weyh on a single past the shortstop. Also in the game, catcher Morgan Gersch went two for two and got on base a third time with a walk.
Shortly after the win against Green Bay, the Lions returned to the field to play Bellarmine. They again found themselves victorious, winning by a score of 3-1. Lindenwood rode another complete game pitching performance, this time by Avery Wapp, who pitched all seven innings, allowing just one run on eight hits, and striking out four hitters. On offense, Lindenwood rode a two-run fourth inning to victory, with Madisen Noll tripling in Irelynn West, and then being brought home herself by the next batter, Ashley Gerber. The lone run scored by the Knights came in the top of the sixth inning, but Lindenwood responded in the bottom half. Noll grounded to second base, but after an error, Gersch scored, making the score 3-1, which was the final.
On the second day of the invite, Lindenwood again matched up with Green Bay in the first of two games. With Wapp once again on the mound, the Lions won 4-1, riding another complete game pitching performance. Wapp struck out 14 of the 21 outs she recorded, allowing just four hits, and one run on a RBI triple. The 14 strikeouts marked Wapp’s season-high to date. Offensively, Noll drove in another run, reaching base on an error in the second inning. West followed up by driving in a pair of runs on a single later in the inning. The last Lindenwood run of the game came in the fifth inning when Gerber doubled in a run.
In the final game of the weekend, the Lions put up their biggest offensive game of the tournament, scoring eight runs, and shutting out Bellarmine 8-0. Weyh pitched all six innings, striking out six batters, and allowing just two hits. The Lions scored two runs in the second, when West drove in two runs, much like she did in the first game. They responded with four more runs in the fourth inning, with Weyh tripling in a pair, and each of Darnell and Gerber driving in a run in the frame. Lindenwood added two more runs in the sixth inning, as Chloe Honchar drove in a run on another triple, with Tori Hatton driving her home two batters later.
The clean sweep of the weekend moves the Lions back to .500 on the season, with a 9-9 record. They now head out on the road to play a doubleheader against the University of Evansville on March 6, before returning home for a three-game series against SIUE on March 9 and 10. The team plays two games on March 9, with the first pitch coming at noon and 2 p.m. respectively, with the March 10 game kicking off at noon as well.
