Truman State University softball defeated the University of Central Missouri in a double header March 4. The Bulldogs won 13-0 in the first game by the ten-run rule and 6-0 in the second game. This is their fourth straight win and shutout, outscoring their opponents 36-0 in those combined games.
The team is now 10-8 and preparing for their Spring Break trip to Florida. Junior outfielder Riley Cook says the team hopes to carry this momentum and says the weekend shutouts give the Bulldogs much needed confidence below the .500 mark.
Head Coach Erin Brown says she was very impressed with the pitchers this week. They did not give up a single run in the four-game stretch — performances like that don’t happen too often, Brown says. She says the pitchers were backed by a steady defense that stepped up and made some key plays to get them out of innings.
Truman softball saw rewards for its week of successes, sweeping the GLVC Player and Pitcher of the Week awards. The GLVC recognized senior catcher Lex Van Nostrand and sophomore pitcher Lauren Dale. Van Nostrand hit .500 this week, scoring three runs, two doubles, one home run and seven RBIs. Dale went 2-0 in the pitching circle, accounting for 12 innings. During these innings there were no runs scored, and nine batters were dismissed by strikeout.
Next up, the ‘Dogs will be facing some regional competition in Florida. They play eight different teams over the course of four days. Brown says these will be key games to potentially give someone the go-ahead in the post-season.
“Every game will be hard,” Brown says. “We just have to keep doing what we focused on this week in preparation so we can just play these games and be prepared for all these different opponents.”