The softball team split with Franklin University this past weekend in their home opener. The Grizzlies captured a 6-4 win in the first game but the Tigers came back to grab a 4-3 victory in the second game.
DePauw is now 2-8, while Franklin is 9-5. The Tigers started strong by taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning of the first game. First-year Abey Bass reached first on a bunt single with two outs before first-year Mina Shaw reached on an error. Junior Bekka Roberts launched a ball to left center which scored two runs, and then scored herself on senior Gabby Smart’s single.
Shaw saw drastic improvement from last week and believes the team will continue to make these improvements throughout the year.
“Last weekend we struggled to do the little things,” Shaw said. “Making the adjustment of doing the little things right, like bunting, earned us runs right off the bat.”
Franklin stormed back in the top of the sixth inning when Taylor Johnson led off with a walk and Megan Lalioff singled. The next two batters drew walks to get the Grizzlies on the board. Savannah Blevins drove in a pair with a single to tie the game and then scored herself on an RBI groundout to capture a 4-3 lead.
Sophomore Sidney Holler nailed a home run off the scoreboard in left to tie the game at 4-4.
Head Coach Erica Hanrahan was impressed with the offensive performances of the team this weekend. “Our offense continues to be strong,” Hanrahan said. “We have a lot of depth on our team, each person in our lineup contributes each game.”
Franklin came through with two runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Tigers. The loss gave the women motivation heading into the second game.
“We talk a lot about resiliency,” Shaw said. “Letting the Grizzlies come back and win was not the plan, but it reassured the team that we need to go into the second game hard and hungry.”
The Grizzlies took a 2-0 lead in the third inning of the second game, but the Tigers fired back in the bottom of the third by putting three on the board. Smart reached and advanced on an error and plated on junior Megan Montgomery’s single. Junior Liz Getz tripled home Montgomery before Godden knocked in Getz.
Bass scored pinch-runner sophomore Sarah Beischer on her RBI single in the fourth inning to make it 4-2.
Bass didn’t think the team made many mistakes in the second game of the doubleheader.
“Everyone was in the game and focused,” Bass said. “We celebrated every victory, we hit for power, we bunted, we scored runs, we cheered on and off the field, and we were selfless and did what was best for the team throughout the game.”
First-year Julia Bork moved to 1-0 in the circle for the Tigers after casting a three-hitter with six strikeouts and zero walks. As a first-year player, Bork does not have the experience of many pitchers on the roster but earning wins like this weekend continue to help her gain experience.
“I had so much confidence during this game because I knew I had my team behind me,” Bork said. “I can tell we are about to hit our stride, which is super exciting.”
Bass says the team is working hard in practice to make sure the defense becomes stellar.
“Overall, we were much improved and I would say our strengths definitely outweigh our weaknesses,” Bass said.
The split makes DePauw’s record 2-8, while Franklin is now 9-5. DePauw takes the field on Saturday when it hosts Hiram College at 1 p.m. in a North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader.