EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- A late solo homerun would not be enough to lift Belmont Softball on the road Saturday at SIUE. The Bruins fell in the series finale, 9-1, in five innings.
Bruins hoped to make waves early in series finale with the help of a double to left by sophomore Kailey Brown (San Antonio, Texas) in the top of the first and senior Georgia McKee (Frisco, Texas) reaching base on four balls in the top of the following frame. However, neither opportunity saw a Bruin get over the plate. The Bruin defense worked to keep the Cougars silent over the same stretch.
Suddenly in the bottom of the third, SIUE exploded offensively. The Cougars used a pair of doubles, three singles and a homerun to take a five-run lead. The Cougars kept coming in the bottom of the fourth, piling on four more runs to take a 9-0 lead.
BU had one final chance to make a mark in its half of the fifth inning. Freshman Kaley Varner (Cumming, Ga.) launched her third homerun of the season over the left fence. Senior Georgia McKee (Frisco, Texas) looked to build on the momentum, sending a single to the same portion of the outfield but the Bruins were unable to get her over home plate and fell, 9-1.
For the day, Varner led the Bruins at the plate, going 2-for-2.
Inside the circle, three Bruins – freshman Alex Clesi (Mandeville, La.), and seniors Autumn McDanel (Moravia, Iowa) and Alicia Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) – all took a turn.
Belmont concludes the first year under Laura Matthews with a 15-26 overall record and an 11-20 record in Ohio Valley Conference play.
