Marian Knights Prove too Formidable for Cougars to Overcome
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Marian | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 2 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Marian | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 | 0 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 3 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Tuesday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Cougars (22-19; 14-15 Crossroads) played host to the Marian University Knights (36-7; 26-6 Crossroads) in a doubleheader at Westendorf Field but fell by scores of 13-4 and 10-4 as their three-game winning streak is snapped.
In the opening game, junior pitcher Mackenzie Rust took the mound for the Cougars, but ran into early trouble as the Knights scored three times in the top of the first capped by a two-run home run to take an early 3-0 lead.
But the Cougars responded in the bottom of the first when center fielder Grace Renbarger led off with a single up the middle and then scored on third baseman Dani Karr's RBI-double to cut the deficit to two runs.
However, the Knights added to their lead in the top of the third with a two-run double with two outs to make it 5-1. More trouble followed in the fifth when Marian loaded the bases with nobody out and followed with three more runs to extend the lead to 8-1.
After the Cougars battled back to scratch across a couple runs in the bottom of the fifth, a grand slam hit by Marian in the top of the sixth created a deficit too large for the Cougars to overcome as they fell in six innings 13-4.
In the finale, sophomore Erika Turpin started for the Cougars, but matters did not start any better as the Knights went to work immediately once again, plating four runs before the Cougars could bat.
The Cougars scratched across a run themselves off a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame and trailed 4-1 after one inning.
But the Knights got to Turpin in the second and third innings, plating two in the second and four more in the third to extend their lead over Saint Francis to 10-1.
The Cougars clawed their way back to pull to within 10-4 after the fifth inning, but the Knights held them from there as Saint Francis will have to rebound.
The Cougars resume play on Thursday afternoon when they play host to the Huntington University Foresters (13-26; 11-17 Crossroads) in a doubleheader at Westendorf Field beginning at 3:00 pm.