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Kansas City
Missouri State
Missouri State Outduels UMKC in Doubleheader Sweep
3/19/2014 8:41:00 PM | Softball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – Missouri State pitchers Erin Struemph and Jessie Van Es combined to allow just four hits over 14 innings to hand Kansas City a pair of losses, 3-0 and 4-2, respectively, in a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Missouri 3&2 Complex.
Save for a bumpy third inning, UMKC's Katie Kelley paced Struemph in game one, holding the Bears scoreless in six of her seven innings of work. But MSU broke through in the visitor's half of the third with three runs on three hits – two of them singles – to break the scoreless tie.
For Struemph's part, the six-foot freshman was dominant, striking out nine batters and carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning before a Bri Wyatt bunt single pushed Katilyn Carey to second and brought the tying run to the plate. It was the only jam of the day for Struemph, who retired the next batter with a groundout to second base.
The 'Roos wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard in game two of the double-dip, plating a pair in the bottom of the first inning. Wyatt was plunked with the first pitch of the game, and Cinda Ramos followed with a double, moving Wyatt to third with no outs. One batter later, Marlee Maples was able to reach base after Van Es overthrew the first baseman, which also allowed Wyatt to score and Ramos to advance to third. Alex Friloux drove in Ramos with a ground ball to the right side, and Kansas City had a 2-0 lead.
Missouri State responded with three in the top of the third inning, stringing together a double and three singles to re-take the lead. The Bears added an insurance run in the fourth and that was more than enough for Van Es on this day.
The sophomore from Pottsville, Ark., allowed just one runner to reach base after the first inning, working six innings of scoreless softball to lead Missouri State to its second victory in as many games. Both UMKC hits belonged to Ramos.
The 'Roos will head to Columbia, Mo., this weekend to take part in the Mizzou Tournament hosted by the University of Missouri. Kansas City will meet Oklahoma State, North Dakota State, Ball State, and the host Tigers over the course of three days.
