Stellar Season Comes to Close for Softball

#1 seed Missouri-St. Louis 4, #4 seed Truman 3 || Box Score
2014 Schedule || 2014 Season Stats || Career Stats

ST. LOUIS – A walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie and sent the University of Missouri-St. Louis past Truman softball on Sunday afternoon, ending the Bulldogs' 2014 campaign with a 43-13 overall record.

For the third time in six meetings this season, the Bulldogs and Tritons (48-6) played a one-run game that was tight the entire way. Truman wasted no time in landing the first punch, as junior 2B Andrea Klipsch belted her eighth home run of the season in the top of the first inning. UMSL would counter in the home half with a ground-rule double by Alex Stupek, evening the score at 1-1.

UMSL's Jena Boudreau launched a first-pitch homer to right in the bottom of the third, but Truman re-took the lead with back-to-back home runs in the top of the fourth. Senior SS Jessica VanNostrand sent her second blast in as many days out to left to tie the score, before junior 1B Liz Leath followed with her seventh of the season down the left field line.

Things progressed at 3-2 all the way to the sixth before UMSL's Brianna Butler deposited a full count pitch over the left-center field wall to knot the score at 3-3.

The Bulldogs got a leadoff double by junior OF Ally McReynolds to open the seventh, but back-to-back strikeouts in front of a fly-out left her stranded.

UMSL received a gift to start the home half, as an errant throw allowed Triton leadoff hitter Ashleigh King to reach and move to second base. After a groundout to third for the first out, UMSL catcher Madison Zbaraschuk took the first pitch she saw into left center field, bringing King home for the game-winning run.

The Bulldogs and Tritons played to nearly an identical line, with both teams registering six hits and committing one error. Six different Truman players accounted for the squad's six hits, with four coming for extra bases.

After picking up two wins yesterday to help keep Truman alive, Kindra Henze struck out five and gave up just six hits in 6.1 innings of work. The GLVC co-Pitcher of the Year did not allow a walk in the game and finished the season with a 23-7 overall record.

The Bulldogs graduate four seniors – SS Corey Niblett, OF Danielle Lewellen, SS Jessica VanNostrand, and OF Kelsey Bollman – but will return six starting position players and both starting pitchers for the 2015 season, which will begin next February. The 43 wins this season tied for the third-most in program history, with this year's squad setting new single-season program records in runs, hits, doubles, RBI, and total bases.

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