DANVILLE, Ill. – Starting pitcher
Tori Witruk won her eighth game of the season with a complete game, allowing zero earned runs, and
Bri Poehler recorded four hits and four RBI, as Parkland softball earned a doubleheader split at Danville Area on Saturday. The Cobras won game one, 9-2, before dropping game two, 5-1, to move to 20-14 on the season.
Allowing six hits and no walks over seven frames while striking out four, Witruk won her fifth game of the month. With both runs allowed unearned, Witruk's ERA moved back under 3.00 to 2.75 on the season. Hitting for herself, Witruk also recorded a pair of hits to help her cause.
Bri Poehler was the Cobras' standout hitter on Saturday, recording two hits in both games. Driving in four of the team's nine runs in game one, Poehler launched her fifth homer of the season in the first inning and then added a second two-run hit in the seventh.
Up next, the Cobras will return home to host Lincoln Land on Sunday, April 14, at 1 p.m. central time.
Game 1: Parkland 9, Danville Area 2
Six Cobras combined for 12 of the 14 hits, highlighted by
Bri Poehler's fifth homer of the season, and
Tori Witruk (8-2) through six scoreless frames in her fourth complete game this month.
Each of the top three spots in the order recorded two-hit performances, as
Kate Beckemeyer and
Camryn Skundberg joined Poehler's two hits and four RBI.
Summer Johnson,
Tori Witruk and
Lauren Wendling balanced out the line-up with two hits apiece.
Poehler's third homer in four days put the Cobras out in front, 2-0, two batters in the game after Beckemeyer reached on a Jaguar error.
After Witurk held Danville Area just two baserunners over the first three innings, the Cobras doubled their lead in the fourth on a one-out double by Wendling to plate Johnson and Witruk.
The Jaguars cut the lead in half with two unearned runs in the fifth, but the Cobras quickly snapped back with two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh. A Newton single and Jaguar error plated the two sixth-inning tallies, while back-to-back two-out hits from Beckemeyer and Poehler padded the lead in the final inning.
Game 2: Parkland 1, Danville Area 5
Parkland was unable to come through with timely hitting, as the Jaguars scored three runs in the third and two in the sixth to defeat the Cobras.
Kirbie Mendenhall pitched all six innings, striking out three.
The Cobras had a chance to take a first-inning lead as they did in game one, as Poehler and Skundberg each singled with one out and moved into scoring position with two outs. However, the Jaguars were able to induce a groundout to escape the early jam.
Mendenhall kept the game scoreless with a three-up, three-down bottom of the first and then pitched around two singles to lead off the second inning. However, after the Cobras also stranded a pair of lead-off singles to start the third, Danville put up a three spot in the bottom of the third on three straight two-out hits capped by a two-run home run.
After two more scoreless frames from Mendenhall, the Cobras, broke through with a run in the sixth. After Skundberg reached on an error to lead-off the inning, Newton moved her to third with a double to put two in scoring position with no one out. A one-out sacrifice fly by
Summer Johnson scored Skundberg, but the Cobras were unable to push across another run.
Danville Area responded with two insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning, scoring on back-to-back two-out hits.
