KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Truman softball team made it look easy for the second doubleheader in a row on Saturday as it defeated Central Missouri by way of the run rule in game one, 13-0, before the team's fourth-straight win in the nightcap, 6-0. In their first four home games of the season combined, the Bulldogs outscored their opponents 36-0 while hitting an absurd .446 (45-for-101).
With the sweep, Truman is two games above the .500 mark for the first time all season at 10-8, while Central Missouri (6-13) has been on the losing end in three straight and seven of its last eight. For the day, five Bulldogs racked up three hits apiece including
Christa Reisinger (3-5),
Lex Van Nostrand (3-5),
Riley Cook (3-5),
Valerie Schmidt (3-6), and
Alyssa Rivera (3-7). Truman's two hurlers combined to toss 12 shutout innings with 12 hits allowed, six strikeouts and three walks.
In game one, the home team did all of its scoring in the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, Truman got on the board when Reisinger was hit by a pitch and later came around to score on a wild pitch. Three batters later, Van Nostrand made it 2-0 when she singled in Rivera with a base knock to center field.
Jamie Fowle then crossed home plate after Schmidt reached on an error by the second baseman to make it 3-0 and Cook followed with a single to the shortstop that pushed across
Morgan McMahan and the Bulldogs were up 4-0. Runs five and six came in when Reisinger hit a ball to center and it was dropped by the center fielder as she collided with the right fielder allowing both Schmidt and
Adrienne Compton to cross the dish.
In the second, Truman did its damage with five RBI singles that sandwiched a two-run double from Reisinger over the head of the left fielder. All of that run support was more than enough for
Nicolette Simpson (4-4) in the circle. The junior transfer surrendered seven hits and in relief,
Alyssa Hajduk allowed just one hit in one frame of work.
In the third inning of the nightcap,
Ashley Murphy gave Truman a 1-0 advantage with a single to left that scored Rivera. One inning later, Cook reached on a low throw by the first baseman, Schmidt scored, and Reisinger doubled in Cook later on to make it 3-0. Two frames passed before Rivera crushed her third home run of the season, a three-run blast to left field, and the Bulldogs were up 6-0 as it was in the final score.
Lauren Dale (6-2) garnered the win with four hits given up, five punchouts and two free passes.
Next up, Truman will play eight games in five days as part of a Spring Break trip to Clermont, Fla. and the National Training Center.
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