Blaine Kinsey

GoSycamores.com

Des Moines, Iowa—The Indiana State softball team (9-10, 0-2 MVC) dropped its first two Missouri Valley Conference games of the season to Drake University (14-11, 2-0 MVC) 2-0 and 5-4 in a double header in Des Moines, Iowa.

Game One

Both teams struggled to find their offense early on in the game as neither team found the scoreboard until the bottom of the third inning when the Bulldogs struck first to take a 1-0 lead.

The Sycamore offense tried to respond in the top of the fourth inning when junior Alyssa Marcum singled to center field to advance junior Bailey Wittenauer to third base. However, senior outfielder Stephanie Jonson struck out to end the inning.

The Bulldogs then extended their lead in the bottom half of the fourth inning when sophomore third baseman Mackenzie Connelly made a fielding error to allow another Drake run to cross the plate and give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead over the Sycamores.

The Sycamores couldn't find an answer and fell in game one to the Bulldogs by a final score of 2-0.

Game Two

The Sycamores came out swinging in game two with singles from sophomore Kim Pierce and junior Stephanie Robinson to start the game. Freshman Shelby Wilson then sacrificed to put runners on second and third. The Sycamores bats began to stall though as two groundouts ended the inning.

The Bulldogs picked up right where they left off in game one as they led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

Freshman Danielle Ketner answered the Bulldogs call in the top of the second inning with a two-run home run of her own to give the Sycamores a 2-1 lead.

Both team's offense then went quiet until the top of the fourth inning when Jonson hit the Sycamores second home run of the game and gave the team a 3-1 lead over the Bulldogs.

However, the Bulldogs had an answer as they crushed a three-run home run over the center field wall to make it a 4-3 Bulldog lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Bulldogs then added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo home run to left field, the team's third of the game and fourth overall, to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead.

In the top of the seventh inning with two outs, Pierce hit a double to center field followed by a Robinson RBI double to center field to close the gap to 5-4 Drake. However, the Sycamores couldn't find any more runs as Wilson grounded out to end the game, giving the Sycamores their second loss of the day by a final score of 5-4.

The Sycamores will finish the three-game series against Drake on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern.