Griffins Drop SLIAC Tournament Opener Against Greenville; Team Faces Webster Tomorrow Afternoon

ST. ANN, Mo.—The Fontbonne University softball team was shutout for just the third time this season as the Griffins fell 3-0 against Greenville to open the SLIAC Tournament.

The Griffins scattered six hits as Alleigh Kruse and Emily McNiff had two hits each. Emily Cardwell and Melanie Russo had the others. On the mound, Maddy Strickland gave them a chance after going the distance allowing three runs and striking out three.

The Panthers, meanwhile got a solid outing out of ace Maegan Stone. The hurler tossed a complete game shutout and struck out one. Offensively, Beth Mersinger, Kendall Farr and Cayla Speaks had a hit and RBI each.

It was a scoreless game up until the home half of the fourth. Becca Oldham led off with a walk and pinch-runner Mackenzie Jackson moved up to third on Kate Jolliff Rosado's double to left.

Then, Mersinger hit a double of her own, plating Jackson to make it 1-0. Jolliff came on in on Farr's single up the middle and Speaks closed out the inning with an RBI groundout to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

In the seventh, Cardwell reached base on a single in hopes of giving the Griffins some momentum. However, Stone retried the final three batters she faced to secure the shutout win.

The team will now take on rival Webster tomorrow afternoon in the elimination game. First-pitch at 3 p.m.

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