NORMAL, Ill. – Parkland softball earned a split with No. 10 Heartland on Saturday, rebounding from a 5-3 defeat in game one to shutout the Hawks, 8-0, in game two behind a 5-5, two home run performance by freshman left fielder Bri Poehler and seven shutout innings from Kate Beckemeyer.

Handing the tenth-ranked Hawks their first shutout of the season, Kate Baeckemeyer allowed just five baserunners over seven innings while striking out seven. Entering with a 4.38 ERA through her first three collegiate starts, Beckemeyer's seven scoreless innings lowered her season average to 3.04.  

Poehler backed Beckemeyer by either scoring or driving in seven of Parkland's eight runs and five the team's 16 hits. The freshman left fielder homered in her first two at-bats and finished the day with five hits, three runs and four RBI. With six hits between the two games, Poehler now has a .492 batting average through her first 17 collegiate games.
In game one, Emma Newton hit her team-leading fourth home run of the season and drove in two RBI to lead Parkland.

Up next, the Cobras will host Spoon River on Sunday, March 24, in Champaign. The doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. central time.

Game 1: Parkland 3, No. 10 Heartland 5

Parkland battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game, 2-2, but three Heartland runs in the middle innings proved too much to overcome in game one.

Right fielder Emma Newton and third baseman Camryn Skundberg led the Cobras offense in game one, both recording two hits. Newton reached base three times and drove in two runs with her fourth home run of the season and an RBI single in the fifth that put the tying run on base. Skundberg singled twice, driving in the tying run in the top of the third inning.
Starting in the circle, Kirbie Mendenhall pitched four innings, allowing three runs while striking out three. Tori Witruk relieved Mendenhall for the final two frames, allowing just one run and earning a strikeout.

Put in a 2-0 hole by a leadoff home run and RBI single in the bottom of the first, Parkland responded with single runs in both the top of the second and third innings. Right fielder Emma Newton put the Cobras on the board with her fourth home run of the season to lead off the second inning, and then the Cobras strung together three singles in the third to tie the game on a Camryn Skundberg two-out, RBI single.

Three straight base runners to start the bottom of the third set Heartland up for two runs, one on a passed ball and the other on a sacrifice fly.

In the top of the fifth, Parkland threatened to tie the game again, putting the tying runs in scoring position with two out. Singles by Lauren Wendling and Bri Poehler and a two-out walk to Newton loaded the bases, but the Cobras were unable to capitalize with a two-out hit.

After Heartland added a fifth run in the bottom of the fifth, the Cobras put together a final rally in the seventh to draw within two runs. A one-out walk by Poehler and back-to-back singles from Skundberg and Newton plated Parkland's third run and put the tying run on base. However, Heartland escaped the jam by inducing back-to-back groundouts.

Game 2: Parkland 8, No. 10 Heartland 0

Freshman left fielder Bri Poehler hit her first two collegiate home runs and freshman starting pitcher Kate Beckemeyer (2-2) shut down No. 10 Heartland in a 4-0 victory in game two.
Backed by an early four runs of support, Beckemeyer held the tenth-ranked Hawks to just two hits over seven shutout innings. Earning her second win of the season, the first-year Cobra allowed just five Hawks to reach base, one on an error, while striking out seven.

At the plate, freshman Bri Poehler had her best game of the season with hits in all five at-bats, including her first two home runs of the season in back-to-back innings. In total, Poehler had a hand in seven of the eight Parkland runs, driving in four and scoring three herself.

Buttressing Poehler's big day, Skundberg protected Poehler in the third spot with three hits, while Newton added two hits in the four-hole. Beckemeyer and Summer Johnson also joined with two-hit performances.

Poehler powered the Cobras into the lead on the second at-bat of the game, launching a one-out, first-pitch bomb over the centerfield fence to give Beckemeyer a 1-0 lead before she took the mound.

After a three-up-three-down bottom of the first by the Cobra hurler, the Cobras tacked on three more tallies. Summer Johnson started the rally with a single and scored on a double as Beckemeyer helped her own cause. Leading 2-0, Poehler, again, swung at the first pitch she saw and deposited it over the left-field fence for her second home run in as many at-bats.

With Heartland's defense settling in over the middle innings, Beckemeyer continued to post zeros. Allowing a single baserunner in the second, third, and fourth innings, Beckemeyer then set the side down in order in the fifth.

Still leading 4-0 after five innings, the Cobras offense padded the lead in the sixth and seventh with four more runs. After a hit by Poehler and Skundberg, Newton drove in her first run of the game, plating Poehler. In the seventh, the Cobras added runs on a passed ball, a Beckemeyer single and Poehler's fifth hit.