April 16, 2007 Recap

April 16, 2007

Game One Box Score            Game Two Box Score

Liberty, MO- After hitting a bit of a rough patch against HAAC opponents, the Graceland University softball team salvaged a split against a solid William Jewell squad as the Jackets traveled to Liberty, Missouri on Monday afternoon. After dropping the opener 5-3, the Jackets rallied back for an exciting and important game two victory at 10-9.

Now 7-9 within HAAC play, the Yellowjackets inched closer to clinching a berth in the postseason conference tournament in their split with the Cardinals. The double-header split also put GU’s overall record at 20-15 on the season. GU has only two HAAC double-headers remaining, first an April 20th match up against Evangel at home followed up by an April 21sthome contest with Avila University. Evangel leads the HAAC with a 12-0 conference record and is currently ranked #15 in the latest NAIA poll.

Game One

After both teams were held scoreless over the opening three frames, both offenses kicked it up a notch in the fourth inning. In the top half of the inning, GU struck for their opening two runs after a walk to shortstop Bryn Degraw was followed up by three straight singles by Jodie Clarkson, Chantelle Daigle, and Lynette Fine.

The Cardinals wouldn’t be held down for long however as they used the bottom half of the fourth inning to strike for four runs off GU starter Carrie Wilson. WJC also tacked on an additional insurance run in the fifth. The Jackets wouldn’t have another scoring opportunity until the top of the seventh but were only able to push across one run as they fell short in the opener. Their seventh inning run came via a solo homer by Fine.

Maria Barwig had a 2-4 showing at the plate in the opener to aid the Jacket’s offensive attack.

Carrie Wilson took to the rubber in the opening game for GU and pitched fairly well by allowing only two earned runs on seven hits. She struggled with her command however and walked five while striking out five. William Jewell pitcher Megan Suelter was dominant in her outing, striking out 11 Yellowjacket batters while allowing three earned runs in her seven innings of work.

Game Two

Barwig continued to swing a hot stick in the second game as she paced the Jackets 15-hit attack with a 3-4 performance. A native of Surrey, British Columbia, Barwig connected for a double and a homerun in the game two victory.

As evidenced by the 10-9 score, both teams had plenty of offensive firepower to display. William Jewell jumped out to a 4-0 advantage after plating a single run in the second inning and three more runs in the third inning.

The Jacket’s bats would finally awake in middle innings as Graceland scored one run in the fourth inning followed up by two in the fifth and a five spot in the sixth inning to take a temporary 8-4 lead. Not to be outdone, the Cardinals stormed back for four runs in their half of the sixth inning to knot up the score at 8-8.

With GU head coach Don Stopa looking to his bullpen on a number of occasions in the game, the Jackets simply struggled to hold off the Cardinals offense. Entering the last inning tied at eight, GU took a 10-8 lead after a clutch two-run single by Tayna Oystrick. WJC attempted a comeback in the final half inning of play as they cut the lead to 10-9 on an RBI groundout but were finally subdued when catcher Kristen Dalley lined out to GU third-baseman Chantelle Daigle to clinch the victory for the Jackets.

In addition to Barwig’s solid offense performance, a number of other Yellowjackets made major contributions to the win. Lindsey Campbell, Clarkson, Fine, and Oystrick all contributed two hits each while Degraw also tallied a hit and two runs scored. Barwig drove in four runs to lead all GU players.

Karie Hanson earned the starting spot for Graceland in game two before seeing two other GU hurlers attempt to slow down the Cardinals offense. Sarah Lippold was next in line, tallying 3 1/3 innings of relief, allowing six hits and three runs before giving way to relief-specialist Jessica Brady. Not a stranger to pressure situation during her freshman campaign, Brady finished out the contest for the Jackets by tossing the final 1 2/3 innings while allowing two hits and two runs and picking up the victory.

For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact:
Michael Brown, Sports Information Director
(641) 784-5318
mibrown@graceland.edu