ROSEMONT, Ill. – MSUM softball suffered its first loss of the 2023 season at the hands of Wayne State University. The contest was game three of five for the Dragons at the Lewis Dome Invitational.
MSUM was held to just six hits in the game with the Dragon pitchers surrendering 10 hits and six walks in the loss.
Each team would plate a run in the first inning with the Warriors striking first. Wayne State would work out two walks on MSUM's
Reece Dahl and would ultimately bring a run around in the process. The Dragons swiftly responded as
Mack Gallagher would bring in
Evey Evans on a sacrifice fly after Evans was hit by a pitch in her first plate appearance.
Wayne State would strike again in the top of the second inning, scoring two runs on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to take a 3-1 lead. The Warriors would score four more runs the following inning, three of them going unearned due to walks. Heading into the home half of the frame, Wayne State led 7-1.
Eliya Johnson would trim the lead slightly as she singled to right field which would score
Teagan Pranchke and
Lizzy Davis on a Warrior throwing error. Through three, the Dragons trailed 7-3.
The two teams would go back and forth in the fifth inning with Wayne State bringing in two runs on a single. MSUM would match that as
Jordey Brown-Smith smacked one over the left field fence scoring herself and
Parris Hovden. After five innings, the Dragons trailed 9-5.
Evey Evans would pitch a stingy top of the sixth and seventh with her grounding out two batters and getting two flyouts as well. Entering the final half inning, MSUM still needed four runs to bring the game even.
MSUM could just not get their bats to wake up, however. Wayne State would secure the victory behind the complete-game performance of Alexis Bonk, who struck out 11 Dragons in the game. The Warriors handed the Dragons their first loss of the season, 9-5.
Up Next
The Dragons (10-1) conclude the Lewis Dome Invitational tomorrow with a pair of games. The Dragons will match up with Truman State at 1:30 p.m. before completing the tournament against Purdue Northwest at 8 p.m.
