CLERMONT, Fla. - Riding high off their comeback win from the previous day, the University of Mary Softball team found themselves on the other side of a late inning rally as they split the final day of their trip to the Dot Richardson Spring Games.
 
The Marauders (5-9) capitalized on a miscue from Davenport University (13-2) in the top of the eighth inning to take the lead, but returned the favor in the following at bat as the Panthers eventually won out in nine innings at 6-5, but rebounded for a solid 7-1 win over Bloomfield College (1-1) to close out the last day before their homeward bound flight to North Dakota.
 
GAME ONE U-MARY vs DAVENPORT UNIVERSITY
 
The first game of the day featured a fantastic pitching duel through the majority of the game as MeLanie Rodriguez went toe-to-toe with Emily Maves as the Panther pitcher was fresh off a no-hitter in her last game and followed up with 15 strikeouts against the Marauders.
 
Rodriguez, on the other hand, dazzled with timely ground balls and fly outs as the defense stood strong through the majority of the game. Davenport broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth as Haley Obetts drove a bases-loaded single to right field to bring in Sarah Wallick, but the Marauder defense came up big as Alexandra McDermott sent a strong throw to the plate before Beth Stroup could score and a throw from Amber Gamboa back into third base put a stop to the rally as the Panthers took a 1-0 lead heading into the fifth.
 
Gamboa evened the score with one swing of her bat in the top of the sixth inning as she drove a 3-1 pitch out over the left center field fence to knot the score at 1-1 and neither team could break the tie in the seventh inning as the game moved into international tiebreaking rules with the last player out in the previous inning starting at second base.
 
McDermott stood on second base and advanced up to third on Alana Norman's bunt single and advanced up to second on a throw back into third base to put runners on second and third with nobody out in the inning, but Maves struck out the next two batters to put the pressure back on U-Mary.
 
Gamboa stepped up to the plate and was promptly walked as Davenport refused to let her decide the game, but on the eventual fourth ball during the unintentional intentional walk the pitch flew away from the catcher and McDermott ended up scoring on the wild pitch to give the Marauders a 2-1 lead.
 
Shawnee Zink drew a walk on the following at bat to load the bases up once again for U-Mary and Kylie Alto cleared the runners with one swing of the bat as she laced the second pitch of her at bat into the right center gap to bring in three runs for a 5-1 Marauder lead heading into the bottom of the eight.
 
Unfortunately, the Panthers would match U-Mary's run total in the inning, started off with Carli SanMillan's reaching on a error during her bunt to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Davenport's Aby Brambila inched the scores closer as she drove a double to left field and ended up at third on another Marauder error, but it had no effect on the following batter as Alyssa Eastman tied the game on a two-run homerun that made the score 5-5, halting any momentum in U-Mary's favor.
 
The Marauders failed to retake the lead in the top of ninth and Davenport threatened to end the game as they loaded up the bases once again in the bottom half of the inning with nobody out.
 
A fly ball to centerfield turned out to be the deciding factor as Sam Schneidenbach drove an 0-2 pitch out to Norman, and the ensuing throw from the senior appeared to be in time but Stroup snuck right under the tag to end the game and finalize the score at 6-5.
 
Amber Gamboa finished with two hits in the game, including her solo shot, while Kylie Alto earned her three RBI on her double in the eighth.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez went 8.1 innings pitched in the game with two strikeouts and three runs given up.
 
GAME TWO U-MARY vs BLOOMFIELD COLLEGE
 
The Marauders refused to let the outcome of the first game impact their performance in the second despite Bloomfield taking the early lead with a homerun from Jamie Cook in the second inning. U-Mary matched the total in the bottom half of the same inning as McDermott drove a single through the right side to bring in Zink with bases loaded, and got one more on a Demaree Rodriguez hotshot single to the shortstop to hand the Marauders the lead at 2-1.
 
U-Mary refused to surrender the lead the rest of the way.
 
Taylor Lara was stoic in the circle for the game against Bears as she pitched six innings with four strikeouts and only four hits given up, as she also baffled hitters with timely off-speed pitches to force ground balls and fly outs.
 
Meanwhile, U-Mary added insurance runs in the third inning after Alto doubled to center field to score MeLanie Rodriguez, while Alto scored on a Crutchfield double through the left side to set the score at 4-1 favoring the Marauders. U-Mary got two more as Crutchfield reached on a dropped popup by the shortstop that allowed Zink and Keegan Wickman to reach home, and capped off their run total when Taylor Mendez's fly ball was dropped by the centerfielder to bring in McDermott to put the score at 7-1.
 
Lara worked out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the sixth with one out after she forced an inning-ending double play on a groundout from Lauren Bueno to maintain the score at 7-1, and Brieann Backes pitched a solid seventh inning of relief with three straight groundouts to end the Marauders' trip on a high note with the 7-1 final in the win.
 
Colleen Crutchfield, Lex Hubbard, and Alexandra McDermott each finished with two hits, as Crutchfield finished with a double and RBI, Hubbard drew a walk and scored a run, and McDermott had a walk, stolen base, RBI and run.
 
The Marauders will have a two-week break before they return to the diamond as they wrap up their non-conference schedule with a trip to St. Joseph, Mo., to compete in the Missouri Western State University Crossover, starting with a game against the host school on March 18, starting at 12 PM CDT.
 
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