by David Almeda
KSU Softball continued its stint at the USF-Under Armor Invitational Saturday by splitting its two contests of the day, falling to Toledo 10-5 and shutting out Villanova 7-0.
Pitcher Amanda Henderson came two outs away from a perfect game in her start against Villanova, mowing down every hitter she faced until a one out double in the seventh inning broke up the no hit bid. It would be the only hit and baserunner that she would allow as she struck out 11, improving her record to 7-3 on the season.
KSU (8-7) began their day against Toledo, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Sara Sikes that scored Natatlie Rhodes. The Owls’ lead quickly vanished, however, as the Rockets scored four runs in the first two innings to go up 4-1.
In the fourth, the Owls began to respond. An RBI double from Bianca Durant, a Toledo error and two sacrifice flies from Kara Chambers and Taylor Denton evened the score at 4-4. Toledo regained the lead in the bottom of the frame, taking advantage of a KSU error to take a slim 5-4 lead before riding a five run sixth inning to take a commanding 10-4 lead. The Owls went on to score in the seventh on an RBI single from Angie Descoli, but the Rockets would go on to win, 10-5.
Logan Viers, in relief of starter Paige Matthews, took the loss. The Owls posted a total of 10 hits and four errors. Rhodes and Dascoli lead KSU’s offense, registering three hits each.
Riding the arm of Henderson, the Owls looked to regroup against their second opponent of the day, Villanova. The game was locked at a scoreless tie until the third inning, when the Owls took advantage of two Wildcat miscues and an illegal pitch to jump out to a 3-0 advantage.
KSU padded its lead in the following inning. Durant began the Owls’ half of the seventh with a walk, which was followed by an RBI double from Courtney Sutter. A single from Missy Perkowski and an illegal pitch allowed Sutter to score from third.
The inning continued with a Caitlin Fowler single, followed by a double play that scored Perkowski. The Owls then extended their lead to 7-0 when Rhodes singled and was able to score off of an illegal pitch and an error.
Henderson’s near perfect pitching performance allowed KSU to eventually cruise to a 7-0 victory. KSU registered seven hits total, with Perkowski and Rhodes each posting two.
The Owls will now play No. 14 Stanford on Sunday to wrap up their current road trip.
