Cedar Falls, Iowa – Hitting the road, the UIC softball team traveled west to take on the UNI Panthers for their seventh Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) series of the season. After going down early in game one, the Flames attempted a late rally but ultimately fell short to the Panthers 12-9. Game two saw a battle between the two sides before the Panthers bats exploded in the sixth, implementing run-rule as they defeated the Flames 17-9. The Flames move to 17-23-1, 6-13 in conference play while the Panthers move to 20-15, 8-4 in conference play.
GAME ONE
Underway in Iowa, the Panthers quickly got action going, recording eight runs between two innings. Following a scoreless third inning, both sides recorded a run in the fourth. Leading off the Flames for the inning,
Sam Tourtillott homered to left center field on the second pitch she faced, recording the Flames first run on the game. The Panthers would go on to record a solo homer themselves in the bottom of the inning as they led the Flames 9-1 at the end of four. The Flames continued to fight for the remainder of the game, recording three runs in the fifth and five in the sixth.
Ari O'Connell led off the Flames in the fifth inning with a double to left center field before
Sophie Gerochi singled down the left field line advancing O'Connell to third. With runners on the corners,
Grace Taylor stepped in as a pinch hitter and hit an RBI single down the left field line before advancing to second, scoring O'Connell and moving Gerochi to third.
Cameran Rios then followed with a two-RBI double to center field, cutting into the Panthers lead. The home team plated two in their half of the inning as the fifth ended with the Panthers leading 11-4. In the sixth, the Flames continued to find momentum. With the first three batters reaching base, Gerochi recorded an RBI with a fielder's choice situation that allow
Sam White to score. With bases once again loaded, Rios would hit a two-RBI single through the right side, bringing home O'Connell and Gerochi. Tourtillott knocked in the final runs of the top half of the inning for the Flames with a two-RBI single of her own. UNI recorded the final run of the game in the bottom of the inning with a solo homer, ultimately taking a 12-9 victory over UIC.
The box score and play-by-play can be found
here
GAME TWO
Momentum for both sides carried over in game two, with UIC and UNI recording two runs each in the first inning.
Cameran Rios and
Sam Tourtillott made it home during
Larissa Ortiz' at-bat for the Flames while the Panthers hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, ending the first with the two sides tied at 2-2. In the bottom of the second, the Panthers put up a seven-run inning, taking a 9-2 lead over the Flames. UIC would answer in the third through, recording five runs.
Siena Stickney, Tourtillott, and Ortiz began the inning loading the bases before
Emily Brecht stepped up to bat and hit a two-RBI single up the middle. On a
Nina Pesare RBI ground out, Ortiz scored for the third run of the inning. Following a strikeout,
Sophie Gerochi reached first on a throwing error, while
Emilia Bartholomew scored.
Grace Taylor brought home the final run of the inning with an RBI double to left center field. The Flames held the Panthers to zero runs in the bottom half, as they finished the inning trailing the panthers by two, 9-7. Fourth inning action saw Tourtillott hit a solo homer on an 11-pitch at-bat to bring the Flames within one, but the Panthers would record a two-run homer to take an 11-8 lead. Tourtillott added an RBI single for the Flames in the fifth as they cut the Panthers lead to two. In the bottom half of the inning, Taylor came up with a huge diving catch to end the inning and keep the Panthers runless. Sixth inning action saw UNI record six runs, implementing run-rule with the Flames falling 17-9.
The box score and play-by-play can be found
here
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
The Flames close the series out with the Panthers tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. CT at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex. Livestream will be available on
ESPN+, while live stats will be available on
UICFlames.com.
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