May 1, 2009

Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - The offense was hot in the opening game of the WHAC Softball Tournament as DU defeated Indiana Tech 10-3, but then they got cooled off in a hurry as #15 Madonna defeated them 12-0 to send the Panthers into the elimination bracket.

Game one was all about the Davenport offense as they put up three runs in the first two innings.  Haley Stehouwer got things started with a lead-off single and Nikki Aldrich followed by getting on base as well. The two would come around to score as Davenport took a 2-0 lead into the second.

Tech answered with a run of their own in the second but the Panthers got it right back with a deep homerun to straight away center by Haley Stehouwer in the bottom half.

The offense kept coming for Davenport as they put up seven more runs in innings 4-6 as Morgan Greenfield and Ali Dawson hit solo shots as well. Two runs by the Warriors in the top of the sixth made things closer than it seemed as DU moved on to the quarterfinals with a 10-3 win.

Karlee Despres picked up her 14th win of the year as she completed the seven innings with seven k's while giving up only five hits.

Game two was the exact opposite of the first as the bats for Davenport got cooled off by a dominating performance by MU pitcher Jess Irwin. The Crusaders came into the game ranked #15 in the country and they quickly put the Panthers in a 3-0 hole after the second inning.

DU did manage to get one base-runner in the third but the Crusader hurler got out of the little scare and finished the game with 9-strikeouts. Madonna later added nine runs in the third inning to put the Panthers in a hole they could not dig out of ultimately losing 12-0.

Irwin finished the game with a no-hitter while allowing only two runners via a hit by pitch and an error by her infield.

The loss sends the Panthers to the elimination bracket where they will take on Cornerstone. The split in the winners bracket gives DU a 31-22 record on the year.