Griffins Offense Totals 28 Hits And 26 Runs In Its Sweep Over MacMurray

JACKSONVILLE, Ill.—The Fontbonne University softball team combined for 26 runs and won its seventh out of its last eight games with a 14-4 (5 inn.) and 12-1 (5 inn.) victories over MacMurray.

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The Griffins (9-17; 9-1 SLIAC), finished with 14 hits in game one and at least nine players had one hit.

Maddy Strickland and Emily Cardwell tied with three hits each. Strickland and Maddie Cooksey each hit a home run in the outing, while Emily McNiff, who didn't register a hit, but did lead with a team-high three RBI.

On the rubber, Brianna Durant picked up her first win on the season after going 3.0 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) and striking out one.

The Highlanders (4-11; 0-9 SLIAC), got its RBI off the bats of Brooke Allen, Kiersten Hann, Kerrigan Horn and Lauren Wenge. Inside the circle, Haley Stewart took the loss after allowing 13 runs in 3.2 innings pitched.

It didn't take long for the Griffins to get on the board as Cooksey belted her second homer on the season in the first.

From there, the Griffins continued to tack on the runs. In the same inning, Strickland and Emelia Modglin followed with consecutive singles.

Kayla Winkler hit an infield single of her own, allowing Strickland to come on home and make it 2-0. Melanie Russo followed with a bases clearing double to push the advantage out to 4-0.

Isabel Hoptop, meanwhile, capped off the inning with an RBI double of her own and that put the Griffins well out in front, 5-0.

It was all Griffins the rest of the way. The team scored two in the second, one in the third, five in the fourth and another in the fifth for the 10-run win.

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It was more of the same story offensively for the Griffins as they scattered 14 more hits. The 1-2 hitters in Courtney Kedroski and Emily Cardwell combined to go 6-for-8 with five runs scored and two RBI.

Alleigh Kruse and Strickland, who hit 4-5 in the lineup, provided plenty of damage going 4-for-7 with three runs scored and eight RBI. Strickland also hit her team-high sixth homer on the season.

Diamond Thomas picked up her fourth win on the season after going 3.0 innings and striking out three

After two innings of play, the Griffins led 2-1. In the third, Cardwell got things started with a one out single and eventually moved up to third.

Cooksey worked a walk to put runners on the corners. Then, the duo executed the double steal and Cardwell scored. Kruse then ripped a triple to right-center and Cooksey touched home to make it 4-1. Strickland finished off the inning with an RBI groundout to give the Griffins a comfortable 5-1 advantage.

In the fourth, the Griffins put away the game for good, scoring seven runs on seven hits. Kedroski (two), Kruse (two), Strickland (two) and Thomas each collected at minimum one RBI for the 11-run win.

The team returns to action tomorrow night at ABC Park against rival Webster on Senior Night. First-pitch at 5 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the softball team.