Ferris softball ended a three game losing streak with a split against Purdue Northwest Sunday, April 10.
The Bulldogs (12-21, 3-7 GLIAC) were supposed to play Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday, but those two games were canceled due to inclement weather.
Ferris came away with a 4-1 win in the first game Sunday before dropping the second 12-4. Junior pitcher Kristie Gray led the way with a strong pitching performance in Game 1.
“It’s just focusing on me and being really zoned in when I’m pitching,” Gray said. “[I’m] doing it for the team at the end of the day. These girls go so hard in practice every day. This is a big one for us.”
Gray replaced freshman Kristina Baar after the first inning and only allowed one run through six innings.
Scoring began in the bottom of the first inning. With two runners on base, junior first baseman Kaitlyn Orme doubled into left field, allowing senior outfielder Paige Kortz to score.
The Bulldogs added to their lead in the second inning after a triple from sophomore third baseman Kacey Bouche drove in senior catcher Ali Magiera to take a 2-0 lead.
Purdue Northwest cut into the Bulldog lead with a run in the fourth inning. However, Gray went the rest of the game without allowing another run.
The Bulldogs finished their scoring after Purdue Northwest failed to field a popup from Magiera with the bases loaded. Orme and sophomore first baseman Evelyn Blood scored and gave Ferris a 4-0 lead.
“When I hit it, I kind of was like ‘Oh darn’,” Magiera said. “But, once you hit it, you always think to just run it out. If you put the ball in play, bad things can happen or good things [can happen].”
The 4-1 win started the day off strong for the Bulldogs. However, they could not carry that into the second game.
Pitching struggles plagued the team early. The Bulldogs gave up six runs in the first and went through three pitchers. Sophomore Aryn Gallacher started and was relieved by Baar. Then first baseman Orme came in to pitch.
After two more runs allowed in the top of the second, the Bulldogs opted to change pitchers again. Gallacher, who started the game, returned to the mound.
“We struggled the first two innings on the mound,” head coach Kristin Janes said. “I do give props to Aryn Gallacher, who went back into the game. She came [back] in and threw three more really good innings. It’s easy for somebody who has struggled to collapse, but she rose to the challenge.”
The Bulldogs were held scoreless until the third inning. Kortz cut into the seemingly insurmountable Purdue Northwest lead, making it 10-1.
At one point in the fifth, the Bulldogs were able to make it a 10-4 ball game with hopes of a potential comeback. However, Purdue Northwest kept adding on to their tallies until the game ended in a 12-4 blowout
Despite the loss, Janes looked at Sunday’s split positively. She believed her team played well and that even in a loss, it’s always good to play well.
The women look to Friday, April 15 for redemption where they’ll take on Davenport in a two game series.