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Box Score 2 DES MOINES, Iowa - Drake took the opener of a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series by the score of 14-1 in five innings, but Bradley rallied for a 12-11 10-inning victory in the nightcap as the Braves and Bulldogs split Saturday's doubleheader at Buel Field.
In the series opener, Drake's Mandy Osborn had a bases loaded, pinch-hit triple with two outs and Lindsey Vande Wall followed with a two-run homer to highlight a seven-run fourth inning for the Bulldogs. Vande Wall also added a run scoring triple in the first inning and Molly McClelland ripped a three-run homer in the third as Drake (17-7 overall, 1-1 MVC) roughed up Bradley (11-13 overall, 2-2 MVC) for 12 earned runs in a 14-1, five-inning victory.
The Braves lone run in the first game came in the top of the third inning. Senior Amanda Clack (Hillsboro, Mo./Hillsboro) led off the frame with a double and moved to third on a Drake error. Fellow senior Janay Mitchell (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) drove in Clack from third with a single through the left side. Bradley managed four hits and one run off Drake's Jenna DeLong, who improved to 9-3 with the victory. Junior Katie Dennis (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesquite) suffered the loss in the circle for the Braves, giving up four runs and four hits in one inning of work.
Bradley rallied for a 12-11 victory in 10 innings in the nightcap behind a season-best 15 hits. The 12 runs scored in the second game were the most for the Braves since a 12-4 win against Northern Iowa on April 17, 2007.
After leaving runners on second and third in the top of the first inning, Bradley took an early lead with a run in the top of the second. Sophomore Jackie Roth (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) led off with a single and stole second. The Braves had runners at first and third after senior Lauren Meister (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) singled and Clack drove in the first run of the nightcap with a single to right center.
Bradley added another run in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Julie Sherman (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) singled and Roth later drove her in from second with a single to left. The Braves pushed the lead to 4-0 with two more runs in the top of the fourth inning. With runners at second and third, freshman Taylor Cox (Loveland, Colo./Andover [Kan.]) ripped a two-out single to left field to plate two more runs.
Drake got single runs in the fourth and fifth inning, before Bradley was able to push another run across in the top of the sixth inning. Clack opened things with a two-out single and Mitchell followed with a single of her own. Cox drove in her third run of the contest with a single to left as the Braves lead stood at 5-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth.
Drake tied things up with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out when Kelsey Kahler hit a sacrifice fly to left to score one run. Drake scored another run on a wild pitch and Elena Leon tied the score at 5-5 with an RBI single to center.
The Braves answered with four runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 9-5 lead. Bradley had runners at first and second with no outs when junior Brittany Fairbairn (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East/Kankakee C.C.) drove in both base runners with a double to left field. Fairbairn later scored on an illegal pitch and Meister capped the scoring in the inning when she raced home from third on a passed ball as Bradley scored four runs on just one hit in the frame.
Drake was not done, however, tying the score again with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Erin Mollohan followed back-to-back singles with a run-scoring double. Carrie Hatfield drove in two runs with a double to left center and pinch runner Macie Silliman scored on a passed ball to tie the score at 9-9.
Bradley went back in front in the top of the eighth inning. Cox led off the frame with a double to left center for her third hit of the game and Sherman belted her first home run of the season to left center to put the Braves back in front 11-9.
The Bulldogs would again answer with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Vande Wall led off the bottom of the eighth with her second home run of the day and Bly followed with a single to left. DeLong came into the game as a pinch runner and scored on a single up the middle off the bat of Rose Magaddino as Drake tied the score at 11-11.
Bradley came up empty in the top of the ninth after opening the inning with a walk and single, but Drake was retired in order in the bottom half of the inning.
Junior Kate Singler (Witt, Ill./Nokomis/Heartland C.C.) opened the top of the 10th with a double to center and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Roth drew a walk and stole second to put runners at second and third and Singler scored when Fairbairn grounded out to the pitcher to give Bradley a 12-11 lead.
Clack got around a leadoff walk and single in the bottom half of the inning to keep Drake off the scoreboard as the Braves managed to split the doubleheader with a 12-11 victory. Clack, who was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, picked up the win for Bradley to improve to 7-3 on the year. Osborn took the loss for Drake as she fell to 0-1 on the season.
Bradley and Drake conclude the three-game Valley series Sunday with a single game at noon at Buel Field.
