GAME RESULTS
Game 1 – Saint Louis 12, Eastern Illinois 0 (5 innings)
Game 2 – Western Kentucky 6, Saint Louis 5 (8 innings)
Friday, February 23, 2024
Bowling Green, Ky.
 
THE BASICS
Saint Louis split a pair of games on day one of the WKU Hilltopper Classic on Friday, defeating Eastern Illinois 12-0 in five innings and falling 6-5 in eight innings to host team Western Kentucky.
 
GAME 1 – HOW IT HAPPENED
•Saint Louis got out of the gate quickly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Allie Marietta drove in the first run with a fielder's choice. Then with two outs, Kelsey Etling and Chloe Rhine produced RBI singles, and a fourth run scored on a passed ball.
•A six-run second inning gave the Billikens a 10-0 cushion. Marietta smashed a three-run double, Etling recorded a two-run single, and Kendall Johnson capped the outburst with a two-out RBI single.
•Eastern Illinois loaded the bases in its half of the third inning, but SLU hurler Taylor Hochman kept the Panthers off the scoreboard.
•Cami Newbanks' two-run single in the Billiken third provided the final margin.
 
GAME 1 – BILLIKEN NOTABLES
•Abby Ulsas had three hits, including a triple, and scored three runs.
•Natalie Sullivan doubled, stole two bases and scored three runs.
•Jane Kaniecki collected a single.
•Hochman moved to 2-1 on the season, striking out five and allowing just two hits.
 
GAME 2 – HOW IT HAPPENED
•Western Kentucky took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, made it 2-0 in the third and increased its advantage to 4-0 in the fourth.
•The Billikens broke through in the fifth on Abby Mallo's first home run of the season, a leadoff solo shot.
•SLU tied it with a three-run flurry in the sixth. Mallo drove in another run with a single, Rhine notched an RBI with a groundout, and Jocelyn Abbott made it a new game with an RBI double.
•Western Kentucky loaded the bases in the seventh, but Isabel Royle worked out of the jam to send the game to extra innings.
•The Bills went on top 5-4 in the eighth when Marietta crossed the plate on a wild pitch, but the Hilltoppers tallied twice in the bottom of the frame to claim the victory.
 
GAME 2 – BILLIKEN NOTABLES
•Ulsas, Sullivan, Newbanks and Marietta had a single apiece.
 
UP NEXT
The Billikens continue play in the WKU Hilltopper Classic Saturday, taking on Eastern Illinois at 10 a.m. and Detroit Mercy at 5:30 p.m.