FLORENCE
– The University of North Alabama softball
team got 23 hits in two games en route to an
11-1, 9-0 season-opening sweep over
Missouri-St. Louis Friday afternoon at Cox
Creek Park.
The Lions (2-0) got valuable production from
their newcomers in the opener. Freshmen
Andrea Palmer and Maggi Eades got two hits
each as UNA used the eight-run mercy rule to
end the game after five innings.
Palmer’s RBI-double to center field scored
the first run of the day for the Lions in
the bottom of the second inning. UNA then
scored fives runs in the third and fourth
innings to put the game out of reach.
A two-run home run by Sarah Whitlow in the
third capped a 2-for-3 performance. In the
fourth, Eades drove in three runs on a
double to left field and finished the game
2-for-3 at the plate.
Sabrina Roberts (1-0) got the win on the
mound. The junior scattered five hits and
struck out five batters in five innings of
work.
In the second game, seven UNA players
combined for 12 hits, while sophomore Megan
Niesel pitched a two-hit shutout. Lindsey
Bates went 3-for-3 at the plate with three
RBI and two runs scored. Emily Beckwith also
drove in a run and had a 3-for-4 showing.
After the Lions used a single run in the top
of the first inning, a four-run third inning
gave UNA a 5-0 lead. Palmer singled and
drove in a run in the third, giving her a
4-for-5 performance on the day.
Back-to-back two-run innings in the top of
the fifth and sixth, allowed the Lions to
complete another mercy-rule victory.
Niesel stuck out four batters in six innings
to get the win on the mound.
UNA will host another double-header against
Northern Kentucky Saturday at 10 a.m.
Printable Game
Statistics - Missouri-St. Louis - Game 1
Printable Game
Statistics - Missouri-St. Louis - Game 2
