MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Regents softball team hit the road on Wednesday looking to continue its improved play over the team's last four games. Rockford has split each of its last two Northern Athletics Conference doubleheaders after a rough stretch in the middle of the season. The softball team continued that trend today winning game one 7-5 and losing game two 16-6 to the Alverno College Inferno.
The Rockford offense had one of its better showings of the year scoring 7 runs on 13 hits in the opener. The ladies struck first in the second inning scoring two runs to break a scoreless tie. Freshman Brittany Bura (Chicago, Ill./Trinity) led off the inning with a single into center field. Two batters later Maranda Walker (Rockford, Ill./Boylan) laced an RBI double scoring Bura and giving Rockford a 1-0. Bura scored later in the inning off an Inferno error. The Regents added another run in the third courtesy of an RBI single from Alexis Ford (Cortland, Ill./DeKalb). Rockford continued its offensive onslaught in the fifth when it scored three more runs and essentially put the game away. Heidi Dockstader (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) and Jessica Segalla (Loves Park, Ill./Harlem) began the inning with back-to-back singles placing runners on first and third with no outs. After a passed ball allowed both runners to advance, Bura laced an RBI single to right field to score Segalla. Maranda Walker drove in the final run of the inning on an RBI groundout giving the Regents a 6-0 lead. Senior Nicole Lawler (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when she homered begin the inning. Rockford surrendered 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh but held on for a 7-5 win.
Freshman pitcher Brittany Bura picked up her third straight win on the mound. Bura threw all 7 innings and gave up just two earned runs for her third consecutive quality start. The freshman threw 110 pitches and struck out 5 batters while walking just two.
Game two did not goes as well for the Regents as the ladies were unable to hold down the Inferno bats. Rockford was however able to take an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning off a pair of doubles. Senior Jossilyn Jones (Rockford, Ill./Guilford) began the game with a double and two batters later Segalla doubled in Jones giving her team a quick 1-0 advantage. However that lead would not last for long as Alverno scored 16 runs over the next four innings and put themselves in control of the game. Jones closed the gap in bit in the fourth inning when the senior ripped a two-run double into left field. The Regents scored their final two runs of the game one inning later when Nicole Lawler blasted her second home run of the day, and Sara Smoode (Spring Valley, Ill./Hail) crushed her first home of the season. However it was not enough as the Regents dropped game two by a final of 16-6.
The softball team returns home on Friday, April 26th for a doubleheader against Maranatha Baptist Bible College. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
