Evansville, Ind. – The University of Findlay softball team split on the final day of the Blue Bridge Border Battle on Sunday, Feb. 25, defeating Davenport University in the opener by a score of 7-6 and losing in the finale to the University of Alabama in Huntsville by a score of 9-1. The split gives the Oilers a record of 5-5 early on in 2024.
Game 1 Box Score (W 7-6 vs Davenport)
Findlay gave up a run in the top of the first but in the bottom, got two runs back to take the lead. Senior Avery Shepherd and sophomore Annika Bredel both singled to put two runners on base. Senior Kaitlynn Briggs then doubled to center, scoring both runners.
Davenport's big inning came in the top of the second when the Panthers cashed in on a three-run home run to take a 4-2 lead.
A half inning later, Findlay chipped away with a single run. In the bottom of the fourth, junior Alissa Davis doubled to score freshman Joslynne Frazier who singled in the prior at-bat. That run tied the game at 4-4.
In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Alexys Antal and Bredel singled to start the frame. Both would later score on a throwing error, giving Findlay a 6-4 advantage.
The Oilers added one more run in the sixth, a run that would prove vital as DU was able to score two runs of their own in the seventh. That single run in the sixth was the decider as UF went on to a 7-6 victory.
Sophomore Emma Jones got the win in relief, throwing three innings and allowing two runs on three hits. Antal was the starter. She went four innings and gave up four runs on eight hits. Antal struck out five while Jones struck out three.
Shepherd had two hits and two RBI in the game while Frazier, who has been red-hot this weekend, picked up two hits and scored twice. Bredel had two hits and two runs scored, as well.
Game 2 Box Score (L 9-1 vs Alabama Huntsville) – 5 inn.
The day's finale did not go well for the Oilers.
UAH scored in the bottom of the first to take the lead, but a home run by Frazier, her third in two days, tied the game up.
Alabama-Huntsville then scored five runs in the second, two in the fourth, and one more in the fifth to secure a run-rule victory at 9-1.
Offensively, the Oilers had just four hits in the game while UAH had 13.
Sophomore starter Kayla Dykin took the loss, throwing 1.2 innings and allowing six runs on six hits. She walked three and struck out one.
Findlay now heads south to Florida to begin a string of eight games in the Sunshine State. That trip will begin with a game against Mary University on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
