Feb. 25, 2007
Northern Iowa Box Score | Bradley Box Score
PEKIN, Ill.- Saint Louis wrapped up play at the Bradley-Schutt Showcase with a pair of losses Sunday at Dragon`s Dome. The Billikens (2-9), who won their first two games in the tournament, fell 9-4 to Northern Iowa before dropping a closely-contested nightcap 4-3 against Bradley in extra innings. SLU freshman Kinsley Kelley posted her first career home run in the Bradley game and doubled in the UNI contest.
Northern Iowa, who was seeking revenge after it dropped the tournament opener to SLU the day before, jumped out to an 8-0 lead through the first four innings. The Panthers chased SLU starter Stacy Gillette in the middle of the third inning after plating five runs on seven hits.
Meanwhile, UNI retired the Billikens in order through the first three innings, but SLU cut its deficit with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman Rachel O'Connell led off with a double, then advanced to third on a Brittney Schmidt groundout. Senior Christy Ernst then put a ball in play that should have been the final out, but she reached on a fielding error by the first baseman to score O'Connell and keep the inning going. Sophomore Annie Dillinger's reached on another error to score Ernst, and Schmidt stole home after Dillinger drew a throw trying to steal second to make it 8-3.
Trailing 9-3 in the bottom of the seventh, SLU managed to push a run across the dish after senior Jody Herbert scored on junior Lorena Floccari's groundout. But it was too little, too late for the Billikens who dropped the contest 9-4.
Against Bradley, the Billikens rallied on two separate occasions to take leads, but they were unable to pull it out in the end. The Braves (7-1) took advantage of several SLU mistakes to plate a run in the first. An error, two singles, a passed ball and a wild pitch accounted for the run, which gave the Braves an early 1-0 lead.
It wasn't until the top of the fifth that SLU cracked the scoreboard. Ernst led off with a double to left centerfield. Kelley then blasted an Ashley Birdsong pitch over the fences for the first home run of her collegiate career, giving the Billikens a 2-1 lead.
The Braves answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Billikens reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth. Freshman Shana Richard led off the frame with a single to left. With two outs, Richard stole second, which proved beneficial as it allowed her to score on freshman Nicki Jost's game-tying double.
Bradley plated a run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings. With runners on second and third, the Billikens intentionally walked Elizabeth Wilson, who was 2-for-3 with an RBI on the day, to load the bases for Jessie Musgrove. But the plan backfired as Musgrove drew a walk to score Janay Mitchell and tie the score at 3-3 after seven innings.
Bradley won the game in the bottom of the eighth when Trish Kowalewski singled in Anne Creighton, who was placed on second at the start of the inning per international tiebreaker rules.
The Billikens return to action next weekend when they host three other Missouri teams for a tournament at The Billiken Sports Center. Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri State and Southeast Missouri State will join SLU in a Benefit for Breast Cancer beginning Saturday at noon. The teams will combine for four games on Saturday and four on Sunday.
