(ROLLA, Mo.) — The Jennies softball team picked up a pair of wins at Missouri S&T on Wednesday afternoon, winning 5-2 and 16-6 in five innings.
The 5-2 victory was the 400th win in the career of Jennies head coach Susan Anderson.
In the first game, the Jennies struck first in the top of the second on an RBI double by Lauren Mabe that scored Jakki Prater.
Amanda Nally drove in the Jennies’ second run of the game in the top of the fifth on an RBI double, plating Emily King.
Missouri S&T knotted the game at 2-2 in the home half of the fifth on a two-run home run by Shelby Michaelis.
In the top of the sixth, the Jennies re-gained the lead on an RBI double by Prater with runners on first and second, making it a 3-2 game in favor of UCM.
After Lauren Mabe drew a walk to load the bases, Kristen Heil singled back to the pitcher, scoring Alex Groeger from third base.
UCM’s third run of the inning came via a sacrifice fly to center by Jessica Neely, making it a 5-2 ballgame.
Jennies starter Katie Shockley (4-1) closed out the final two innings to pick up her fourth complete game of the season. The right-hander allowed two runs on six hits and fanned five. Groeger and Prater each collected two hits in the first game.
In the second game, the Jennies scored in four of the five innings. They brought two across in the top of the first on Prater’s team-leading 12th homerun of the season.
Missouri S&T answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first. With runners on first and third, Michaelis and Andi Davis pulled off a double-steal to bring across the first run. The second run came via a fielder’s choice by Cailey Baker that plated Michaelis.
In the top of the second, King blasted a two-run home run over the centerfield wall to give the Jennies a 4-2 lead. Two batters later, Ali Jo Rogers and Lindsey Dawson hit back-to-back doubles to bring UCM’s fifth run across to make it a 5-2 ballgame.
The Jennies tacked on two more runs in the top of the third on a fielding error by the third baseman that plated Prater and an RBI double to right center by Nally.
The Lady Miners cut the Jennies’ lead to 7-5 in the bottom of the fourth on RBI doubles from Lori Badalamenti and Michaelis and an RBI single from Davis.
UCM exploded for nine runs in the top of the fifth inning after the first seven batters reached base, leading to five runs. Heil hit a sacrifice fly to plate the Jennies’ sixth run of the inning, making it 13-5. Jill Lucas scored on a passed ball, bringing the seventh run of the frame across for UCM. The final two runs came via an RBI triple from Nally and an RBI double by Alex Leonhart.
Prater, who came on in relief for starter Jessica Wilkes in the fourth inning, allowed a solo home run to Becca Strope, before picking up the win to improve to 8-3.
Prater’s 12 home runs through the first 20 games are tied for fourth-most in a single-season in Jennies history. Dawson led UCM with three hits and three RBIs in the second game.
The Jennies will travel to St. Joseph to participate in the Missouri Western Regional Crossover from Friday through Sunday.