Pride pitching steps up doubleheader split against Heart leaders Benedictine

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Closing out their four-game home weekend for their final games of March, the Clarke University softball team was able to split their doubleheader against Benedictine College with a game one 2-1 loss before earning the split with a 5-0 win at Veterans Memorial Park.

One the best weather conditions day for a home game so far of the season, typically a good sign for offense, it was the pitching for both teams that stole the show as CU's Meredith Gatto and Bailey Selvage for the Ravens went nearly pitch for pitch in their complete games with Gatto allowing two earned runs on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts and Selvage allowing one earned run on two hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts.

The two runs Gatto allowed both came via solo home runs for BC as Rhiannon Martin got the scoring started in the top of the fourth then Alena Velilla broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the sixth with her own solo shot with a Pride run sandwiched in the middle during a bottom of the fifth that saw drop down four bunts, two for hits and two sacrifices to have Oakleigh Harman score on an Olivia Sikora squeeze bunt to tie the game at 1-1.

Those two bunts were the only two hits in the game for CU as the only other time they reached base on Selvage came by way of a first inning one out walk to Harlee Makue-Vasconcellos but she was left stranded on second base with a chance for the Pride to take an early lead.

Moving on to game two, Clarke was able to pitch a shutout with starter Emma Slayback and reliever Ellie Flanagan, the weekend's standout in the circle for the Pride, nearly split the game exactly in half as Slayback recorded 10 outs and Flanagan recorded 11 outs for the seven-hit shutout performance as Slayback allowed five hits with two strikeouts and Flanagan allowed two hits with five strikeouts.

Clarke got a run apiece in each the second, third, and fourth innings as Sikora delivered again, this time with a ground ball single into left field, once again scoring Harman for the first run of the game with Teal Transburg driving in the second run on a single to center, scoring Kaylie Holtam, then Holtam doubled home Sikora in the fourth to make it 3-0.

After Flanagan produced a shut down one, two, three top of the fifth, Harman came to the box with a runner on base and two outs when she took a 1-0 pitch deep to left center for her third home run of the season in the form of a two-run shot to add some welcomed, but not needed, cushion onto the CU lead, making it 5-0.

Harman finished game two 3-for-3 with two runs scored and those two RBIs, Holtam also had three hits at the top of the lineup, going 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI, then Sikora added a pair of hits down towards the bottom of the order as she also scored once and had one RBI.

That split gave Benedictine, who entered the weekend as a team receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll and as the top team in the Heart of America Athletic Conference by record, just their second loss of their Heart schedule thus far, the only other loss coming against then No. 8 now No. 17 ranked Central Methodist University.

Those aforementioned Eagles will be the next opponent for the Pride when they travel to Fayette, Mo. for a Friday, Apr. 3 doubleheader that is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. CT.