The Saint Louis University women’s softball team managed to split a pair of doubleheaders over the weekend, as the team continued through the heart of its Atlantic 10 schedule. After splitting a mid-week doubleheader with Southeast Missouri State, the Billikens hit the road to do battle with Fordham and LaSalle. After being swept in a Friday doubleheader against Fordham, the Bills finished strong and took two-straight Sunday afternoon contests from LaSalle, en route to finishing the trip with a 2-2 record.
The Billikens struggled to find consistency on Friday, as several mental mistakes and missed opportunities allowed them to be swept by Fordham. The Bills got off to a hot start in the first but cooled down drastically after that. Senior Ashleigh Williams belted her sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot, which gave the squad an early 2-0 lead. Fordham returned the favor in the bottom half of the first inning by plating four runs on four hits.
The Billikens threatened in the top of the third but failed to capitalize. Two outs and singles by Williams and Logan Justice, as well as a walk issued to Lorena Floccari, juiced the bases for the Billikens.
Fordham pitcher Sara Kinney then got her team out of the jam by inducing a pop out from Kara Sell.
SLU threatened again in the fifth inning. After taking a walk, Ashley Heady advanced to third on a Williams double. Justice promptly drove in Heady with a sacrifice, bringing the Billikens to within one run, at 4-3. With Williams on third base and two outs, Floccari failed to capitalize and flied out to rightfield. The squad made one final effort to tie the game in the sixth inning, but could not advance the runner home from third base. Fordham tacked on an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth inning to stretch the lead to 5-3.
The second half of the doubleheader was dominated by Fordham. The Billikens again looked sharp early but fell apart as the game went on. Jill Pursell led off the game with a homerun, the first of her career.
After Christy Ernst followed with a walk, a Heady double plated Ernst and stretched the Billiken lead to 2-0. This was about all the offense the squad would get, as they were held to just three hits and one run for the rest of the way. The lone run came off Heady’s second homerun of the season.
Fordham quickly answered in the bottom half of the first inning and tied the game at 2-2. The Rams blew the game open in the third inning by plating seven runs, putting the game out of reach for the Billikens.
Floccari struggled on the mound, lasting only three innings while allowing nine runs on eight hits. Erica May gave up only three runs on five hits in just over two innings of work. Following two Rams home runs in the sixth inning, the game was officially called because of the eight-run rule. The Billikens could not be pleased with their performance on Friday.
“We felt that we could compete with Fordham but struggled to take advantage of chances with runners in scoring position. When we capitalize on those opportunities, we feel that we are very difficult to beat,” said sophomore Jody Herbert.
A day off on Saturday did wonders for the Billikens, and the squad showed no signs of disappointment from their performance on Friday. The Billikens dominated on the mound; Levan hurled a four-hit shutout en route to a 2-0 win, and Floccari teamed with May to sweep the doubleheader with a 9-0 win. The Billikens scored quickly in the first part of the two-game set. Pursell and Ernst led off the game with back-to-back singles. A Heady sacrifice bunt advanced Pursell to third. The Billikens continued to play small ball as Pursell scored on a Williams sacrifice fly to centerfield. The Billikens struck again in the second inning, as Herbert plated Jenna Renner, stretching the Billikens’ lead to 2-0. Levan was dominant on the mound, striking out 10 and scattering only four hits, going the length for the Billikens. With the win, Levan improved to 10-5 on the season.
The squad continued where it left off in the second game, and the Bills exploded for nine runs in just five innings of play. Floccari bounced back from a tough outing on Friday to throw three hitless innings before being relieved by May. May allowed only two hits and sealed the shutout for the Billikens.
Sell started the festivities by leading off the second inning with a laser shot over the leffield fence. The homerun tied Sell with Williams for the team’s homerun lead, at six apiece. SLU continued to pour it on in the second inning, when Ernst triple plated Allison Appenfeller, Jess Burns and Pursell to make the score 4-0. Ernst would later score on a Heady sacrifice fly, making it 5-0. The Bills showed no mercy in posting runs in the third and fourth innings, followed by two runs in the fifth inning, to put the game out of reach for the Explorers.
The Bills took the second half of the doubleheader by a score of 9-0 and managed to pull even on their four-game weekend road trip.
“Finishing this trip strong was essential. This gives us a full head of steam heading into the weekend. Hopefully we will pick up right where we left off and play well on Wednesday and Friday,” Herbert said.
After a successful road trip, the Billikens improve to 15-18 overall, and 6-4 in Atlantic 10 play. The squad will take a break from conference play, as it heads to Martin, Tenn. to take on the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks on today, April 12, in a doubleheader. The squad will then entertain UNC Charlotte on Friday, April 14, in a doubleheader at the Billiken Sports Center.
