STARKVILLE, Miss. – Emma Buckles had four RBIs on a pair of two-run doubles, and three other Saint Louis players drove in two runs apiece in the Billikens’ 13-5, five-inning win over Austin Peay Friday afternoon at Mississippi State’s Bulldog Kickoff Classic.
The Billikens improved to 2-0 with a second consecutive run-rule victory. Austin Peay slipped to 1-1.
Saint Louis did most of its damage early, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and four in the second. All 12 runs scored with two outs.
Austin Peay plated an unearned run off SLU hurler Maddie Baalman in the top of the first before the Billikens revved up their offense in the bottom half.
Alex Nickel drew a one-out walk and raced to third on Allie Macfarlane’s single. A fly ball to center field wasn’t deep enough to score Nickel, but Brianna Lore walked to keep the inning alive.Mackenzie Peter put SLU on top with a two-run single, and Macie Wheeler doubled in two more runs for a 4-1 Billiken lead.
Following a walk to Madeline Brungardt, Buckles delivered the first of her two doubles to make it 6-1. Lindsay Friedman walked, Nickel reached on an error to load the bases, and Macfarlane delivered a two-run single to increase the lead to 8-1.
Austin Peay tallied a run in the second, only to see Saint Louis continue its onslaught in the bottom of the frame.
After the first two batters were retired, Wheeler doubled again and moved to third on the first of Brungardt’s two infield singles. Buckles’ second two-bagger upped the SLU advantage to 10-2, and Friedman followed with her second home run of the day – she hit a three-run bomb in an earlier win over Mississippi Valley State – to make it 12-2. Nickel doubled but was stranded.
A three-run home run in the fifth gave Austin Peay a spark, but Baalman kept the Lady Govs off the board the rest of the inning. The Billikens clinched the win in the bottom half when Taylor Meeks was hit by a pitch with one out, advanced to third on a double off the bat of Breanna Lockette and scored on a Brittany Durant single.
Saint Louis again plays twice on Saturday. The Billikens take on Middle Tennessee State at 9 a.m. before facing tournament host Mississippi State at 11:30 a.m. The SLU-MSU game will be carried live on SEC Network + through WatchESPN. Click on the SEC Network + link on the home page of www.SLUBillikens.com – located in the schedule box below the lead stories – for information on how to access the live video stream.
