QUINCY, Ill. - - Sophomores Kindra Henze and Kelsea Dorsey were nearly unhittable, and the No. 25 Truman softball offense supplied a combined 27 hits en route to a Great Lakes Valley Conference sweep of rival Quincy University on Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs took game one, 9-0, in five innings before wrapping up the sweep with a 6-3 win in game two.
After learning earlier in the day that the squad moved into the top-25 of this week's NFCA coaches' poll, Truman (20-5, 12-2 GLVC) became the first GLVC team to reach the 20-win mark on the season with the twin-bill sweep. Wednesday's contests also marked the passing of the halfway point of the regular season, as the Bulldogs have 11 GLVC doubleheaders and one non-conference DH left on the 2014 docket.
Freshman Alexis Van Nostrand went 6-for-7 at the plate in the doubleheader with two doubles and three RBI, while junior Cate Simon posted a 5-for-7 mark with a home run and three RBI. Six other Bulldogs tallied multiple hits, as Truman batted .458 as a team on the day.
Meanwhile in the circle, the sophomore tandem of Henze and Dorsey struck out a combined 23 Hawks in 12 innings and limited QU to just a .098 team batting average.
The Bulldogs return to the field this Saturday and Sunday, with the team set to host Missouri S&T and Drury at 12 p.m. each day at the Bulldog Softball Park in Kirksville.
Game 1 Recap – #25 Truman 9, Quincy 0 (5 innings)
The Bulldogs used three in the first and two more in the second to put Quincy in an early hole and ride the momentum to a 9-0 run-rule victory in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader.
Kelsey Bollman got things started in the top of the first, as she homered over the right-center field wall to put Truman on top 2-0 just three batters into the game. Later in the inning, A. Van Nostrand singled home older sister Jessica Van Nostrand for a 3-0 lead.
Then, in the second, Andrea Klipsch doubled home Danielle Lewellen before Bollman recorded a sacrifice fly in her next at-bat for a 5-0 cushion. Simon would later provide a three-run homer in the fourth, before A. Van Nostrand would again bring home J. Van Nostrand with a single to center for the 9-0 tally.
Henze, meanwhile, gave up just two hits while striking out 11 to run her season mark to 11-2. She needed only 72 pitches to get through 17 QU hitters, with the Hawks only getting one runner to second base all game.
Game 2 Recap – Truman 6, Quincy 3
Kelsea Dorsey flirted with perfection, carrying a perfect game into the seventh inning, while the offense knocked out 15 hits to help Truman earn a 6-3 road victory in game two.
Dorsey retired the first 18 QU batters of the game – 12 via strikeout – and was after her second career no-hitter; however, the Hawks' leading hitter, Alanna Viken, took the second pitch of the bottom of the seventh over the left field fence to break up the perfect game, no hitter, and shutout in one swing. An error and another home run brought the score closer, but for the game, the sophomore was on her mark – allowing just two hits and no walks. The dozen strikeouts set a season-high, as she moved to 9-3 on the year.
Meanwhile, teammate Liz Leath staked her to an early lead with a two-run home run in the top of the second, before Ally McReynolds contributed a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 3-0.
A. Van Nostrand would double home pinch-runner Kelsey Jacques in the fifth, before Bollman notched another RBI via sac fly in the sixth to plate McReynolds. A third sacrifice fly – and second of the day for McReynolds – would score J. Van Nostrand in the seventh to give Truman what was then a 6-0 lead. Both Simon and A. Van Nostrand would tally three hits apiece in the game, while McReynolds went 1-for-1 with two sac flies and a hit-by-pitch out of the No. 9 slot in the lineup.
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