The UIS softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at UIndy on Sunday, falling 9-1 and 11-2 to the No. 4-ranked team in NCAA DII softball.
In game one, UIS collected five hits but couldn’t keep pace after a fast start. The Prairie Stars opened the scoring in the first inning when Rosie Bartletti walked, stole second, and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt before coming home on another bunt to take a 1-0 lead.
The home team answered to tie it in the bottom half of the inning and carried that momentum throughout. A pair of home runs and a three-run third inning helped extend the lead to 5-1, before a three-run homer in the fifth put the game out of reach at 8-1. An additional run in the sixth set the final at 9-1.
Bartletti took the loss in the circle, allowing five runs over three innings. Alexis Carroll followed with two innings of relief, and Addy Girard made a brief appearance to close it out. Offensively, Olivia DeLuca led the way with two hits, while Rachel McMullen added a double and some solid defense behind the plate.
In game two, UIS again struck first. Bartletti singled and later scored on an RBI single from Bailey Masching to give the Prairie Stars a 1-0 lead in the opening inning.
UIndy responded with five runs in the first inning and continued to build their lead over the next two frames, plating multiple runs in each to take control of the game.
UIS added its second run in the fifth, as Kate Feld walked and eventually scored on a Bartletti single to make it 11-2, which held as the final.
Calista Stahlhut started game two and took the loss, while Carroll and Girard combined for relief innings. Bartletti led the offense with two hits, a run scored, and a stolen base, while Masching added an RBI.
UIS returns home for the final weekend of the regular season with back-to-back doubleheaders at noon. The Prairie Stars host Lewis on Saturday, May 2 for Alumni Day, followed by Upper Iowa on Sunday, May 3 for Senior Day.
