The Billiken softball team took the field yesterday to take on University of Tennessee-Martin in a double header.
The big story in the first game was Nicole Bohnenstiehl, who carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning only to have it taken away when Kristin Runyan of UT-Martin blazed one into right field to score on an in-the-park home run.
Bohnenstiehl also hit a home run, helping her own cause, and bringing her pitching record to 10-6.
“I expect to go and do well, but I don’t expect to do that well.” Bohnenstiehl said.
“[Bohnenstiehl] is a quality pitcher,” said Billiken coach Jim Malloy.
Kerri Higgins also helped out the Billikens, going 1-2 with two RBIs. She was assisted by Melissa Quist, who went 3-3 with an RBI.
The Billikens beat UT-Martin 4-1 in the first game and continued their onslaught in the second game.
Bohnenstiehl came on strong in the first inning with an RBI double, bringing in Kerri Higgins.
The Billikens would hold the lead for the rest of the game, allowing only four hits and no runs. Bohnenstiehl would pitch the final three innings of the game, striking out 8 of 10 batters.
The Bills would score again in the 6th as Adrie Bogaars brought in Beth Yagge with a hit to shallow center field.
They would finish with a 2-0 shutout of the Skyhawks.
The team’s performance yesterday was no surprise to senior catcher Adrie Bogaars.
“We expect to win every game,” Bogaars said. “If we didn’t we wouldn’t be out here.”
The pair of wins improved the team’s record to 13-10.
Over the weekend, the Billikens were swept by Conference USA rival South Florida in a double header in St. Louis.
The Bills lost the first game 3-1 and the second game 5-4.
In the first game, the Billikens faced and early deficit after South Florida’s Courtney Lewellen and Kattrina Dowd combined to score off Lewellen’s sacrifice fly.
South Florida managed another run before the Billikens could retaliate.
The Bills’ lone run of the game came when Adrienne May drove in AshLeigh Williams, but South Florida quickly pulled ahead of SLU once again with one last run from Holly Grove, who took advantage of a SLU error to advance around the
In the second game, the Billikens could not recover from the early mishaps of the first game, despite taking an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Yagge’s double plated Kerri Higgins. However, South Florida would not let the Billikens hold the lead for long, as Holly Groves led off the second inning for the Bulls and soloed to tie the game early on.
Bohnenstiehl revived the Billikens with a three-run homer over the center field, scoring Higgins and Ashlee Heady doubled and singled to get on base before the senior ripped her rocket out of the park.
Unfortunately for the Billikens, USF retaliated with the second three-run homer of the outing. Lewellen and Groves singled to get on base, and Christie Chapman knocked the ball over the right field fence to tie the game at four runs apiece. USF finally pushed ahead of the Bills with the final run of the game in the top of the seventh.
Next up for the Billikens are the Louisville Cardinals. Last year, the Cards took all three games against the Bills in Louisville and are favored among top teams in the league.
