LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY SOFTBALL PAGE
Continuing its eight-game Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference road trip on Tuesday (April 2) at Purdue Northwest, Ashland University's softball team lost 10-6 in the opener, then was leading Game 2 by a 9-1 count through 3½ innings before it was suspended due to darkness.
Game 1 saw the pendulum swing one way, then back the other way, and back again. The Pride took a 4-1 lead through three innings thanks to four unearned runs, then the Eagles countered with two runs in the top of the fourth and three runs in the top of the fifth.
Sophomore left fielder Emma Lawson's two-run single in the fourth got Ashland (20-11 overall, 6-5 GLIAC) closer at 4-3, then a trio of unearned runs came home in the fifth on a Pride error and a two-run home run from junior designated player Dayna Denner, her sixth of 2019.
Purdue Northwest (13-8, 4-3) came back with a six-spot in the bottom of the sixth, four runs of which were unearned, for the final margin of victory in the opener.
Senior first baseman Kylie Asmus, senior third baseman Paige Summers and Lawson each had two of AU's nine hits, while Lawson and Denner each drove in two runs. Senior pitcher Hannah Stroe (9-6) was the Eagles' third pitcher in the opener, allowing three hits, four runs (all unearned) and a walk in one inning.
In Game 2, it was Ashland jumping on top first, scoring three unearned runs in the top of the initial frame on an error, a Summers sacrifice fly and a Lawson RBI single – all with two outs. The Eagles added four runs in the top of the fourth for a 7-1 lead thanks to a Lawson RBI double, Denner's steal of home, an RBI fielder's choice from junior shortstop Bree Gill, and an Asmus run-scoring groundout.
Denner extended Ashland's nightcap lead to 8-1 with an RBI double in the top of the fourth, then junior catcher Cassie Haight made it a 9-1 contest four batters later with an RBI single, prior to the suspension.
If the second game is picked up later, it will be resumed from where it left off.
Ashland will go back on the road on Saturday (April 6) to play Parkside (0-30, 0-12) at 1 p.m.
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