Elsah, ILL. -- The Panthers faced the MacMurray College Highlanders on Saturday for two conference games. The Panthers wavered a little bit, but strong offense and consistent defense were able to secure one win for the day.
Game 1:Â Principia 9, MacMurray 4
The Panthers came out strong, making plays on defense and putting up runs early on offense. With
Leah Schaefer on the rubber, hitting her spots and drawing ground balls and fly outs, the Panthers were able to hold a five-nothing lead for the majority of the game. A few errors and several weak "bloopers" hit by MacMurray found gaps in the defense and gave the Highlanders their four runs.
Principia's offense came out ready to attack, putting up five runs early in the game. The Panthers unfortunately got comfortable with a lead, and the bats went quiet for innings two, three, and four. After the Highlanders scored several runs to make the game close, Principia's offense came back alive to put up four more runs. The Panthers showed great resolve in game one, securing a win and shutting the Highlanders down.
Hits for game one go to
Emily Hewitt with a single,
Alyssa Hudenburg with two singles and a double,
Hannah Hathaway with a single,
Lauren Daugherty with a single,
Leah Schaefer with two singles, and
Tanya Marquardt with a single.
Ashley Noville,
Tanya Marquardt, and
Leah Schaefer each had an RBI and
Alyssa Hudenburg had two.
Game 2:Â Principia 4, MacMurray 6
Game two started off lacking the same focus from game one. With low energy on the field, the Highlanders strung enough hits together to take the lead.
Aleigha Russell was on the rubber for game two, throwing one of her best games of the season. She consistently gave the Highlanders a hard time, drawing ground balls and fly outs to get the Panthers out of some potentially big innings. Offensively, the Panthers had a hard time adjusting to the new pitcher in game two and produced very little offense to begin. While the Panthers put a lot of balls in play, there just was not the same solid connection they found in game one. With only four hits for the game, the Panthers were unable to catch up and ultimately fell to the Highlanders.
Hits for game two go to
Alyssa Hudenburg with her first triple of the season that brought in two runs,
Hannah Hathaway with a single,
Lauren Daugherty with a double that brought in a run, and
Tanya Marquardt with a single.
Up Next:Â
The Panthers travel to Iowa Wesleyan on Monday to play another conference double header at 3:00 & 5:00 pm.
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