In order to prove that you’re a good team, there comes a time when you have to put your money where your mouth is. When you’re on a seven game losing streak, that’s usually a good time to start.
Just ask the Saint Louis University softball team.
The Billikens dropped both road games this weekend at the University of Louisville Invitational to Michigan and host Louisville with scores of 3-2 and 7-3, respectively.
In the first game, the Bills took an early 1-0 lead in top of the first inning when Erin Jeffrey scored on an RBI by Adrie Bogaars. The Bills couldn’t keep their momentum from the beginning of the game going and didn’t score again until the seventh inning.
“We didn’t put hits together. We’d have one here and one there and would get people on base, but we couldn’t put it together and score runs,” said coach Jim Malloy.
The Wolverines came alive in the bottom of the third inning scoring two runs, and increased their lead in the fifth inning when they scored another run to bring the score to 3-1.
The Bills tried to rally late in the game and managed one more run when Heather Hubert drove in Beth Yagge, but the Bills couldn’t muster another run to tie the game.
“(Michigan) got a series of hits together, and from that point on, it was very hard to recover and come back and score more runs,” Malloy said.
Jeffrey led the Bills with two hits, including one double, and Hubert was solid on the mound, allowing just six hits. The Bills outhit the Wolverines 8-6 for the outing.
The Billikens didn’t fare much better against the host Cardinals Saturday afternoon. Again, the Bills were the first on the board, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third inning.
“We were ahead, then (Louisville) began to hit, and we were not able to respond. We left 12 on base and didn’t get hits,” Malloy said.
Nicole Bohnenstiehl had a two-out single to right field and advanced to second when Bogaars reached on a Louisville error. Yagge loaded the bases by drawing a walk, and Janet Venorsky notched three RBI with a triple to give the Bills a 3-0 lead.
The Cards rallied and came up big in the sixth inning, answering with four runs to take control of the scoreboard. A double from U of L’s Aja Sherman drove in three runs to tie the game, and Kenzie Meisenburg added a triple to push the Cardinals up by one.
The Bills couldn’t catch up with the Cardinals, and Louisville added three more insurance runs in the top of the seventh to secure the win.
Bohnenstiehl took the loss for the Bills, allowing seven runs, six of them earned, on 12 hits but managed five strikeouts. Bohnenstiehl has a 2.34 ERA and is fifth in Conference USA with 79 strikeouts.
Venorsky lead the Bills offensively going two for three with three RBI, moving her into second place on the team’s all-time RBI list with 50.
This week, the Bills look to bounce back from a long seven game losing streak with a double header at SIU-Carbondale before returning home for a three game C-USA showdown with East Carolina.
The SIUC Salukis are on a five game winning streak and are 16-8 overall and undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play. SIU’s pitching staff has a cumulative ERA of 0.88 and has given up only 19 earned runs.
“Carbondale will be a challenge, but I believe if our players are as aggressive as they can and should be, we will be successful. We have to come ready to play,” Molloy said.
The ECU Pirates are in their inaugural season of C-USA and are 21-12 overall and 3-3 in conference play. ECU has a 1.76 ERA as a team and is hitting .240.
“East Carolina has a good record. It will be a good series, and in order to get into the conference tournament, we will have to be successful against East Carolina,” Malloy said. “We have to come ready to play. We’re a good team, but we have to prove it.”
