ROSEMONT, Ill. (2-6-26) - Sophomore
Wendy Ketola came up clutch with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving Detroit Mercy a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind season-opening win over Drake at the DePaul Dome Tournament held at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex. Freshman
Savannah Schultz picked the perfect time to connect on her first collegiate hit with a solo home run, tying the game in the bottom of the sixth inning to set up the dramatic ending that led to the Titans' first season-opening win since the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020. UDM dropped the second game to host DePaul, 8-2.
After only surrendering an unearned run in the first inning, sophomore
Erin Flynn was lights out in the circle, tossing 6.0 shutout innings with seven strikeouts and three scattered hits to pick up the complete game win.
Sophomore
Allison Fluker went 1-for-1 with a walk and hit a key double in the bottom of the seventh inning, which was the winning run. Junior
Jada Davis went 1-for-3 with a triple, while sophomores
Madeline Hallman and
Natalie Babcock each hit 1-for-3.
In the second game against the Blue Demons, sophomore
Abby Klaft went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while sophomore
Josalyn Dietlin hit 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Freshmen
Hannah Schlachter and
Jaycee Reams each recorded their first career hit, with
Addison Pokley drawing three walks.
Drake Recap:
• Drake got on the board first with a triple and a throwing error on the same play in the first inning for a 1-0 lead.
• Hallman got the first hit of the season with a single in the bottom of the first inning.
• Davis hit a triple to left field but was cut down at the plate going for the inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the fourth.
• Schultz's solo homer in the bottom of the sixth tied the game at 1-1.
• Fluker led off the seventh inning with a double and was pinch-run for by Schlachter.
• Ketola stepped up and drove in the winning run with an RBI single to left field.
DePaul Recap:
• After a scoreless two innings, the Blue Demons posted four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead.
• Dietlin hit a pinch-hit RBI single to plate sophomore
Leah Daniels, getting the Titans on the board in the top of the fourth.
• DePaul got the run back in the bottom half the lead to 5-1.
• Klaft posted an RBI single to score Pokley, cutting the deficit to 5-2 in the top of the fifth.
• The Blue Demons went on to score two runs off a sac fly and sac bunt in the bottom of the fifth and added another RBI single in the sixth to seal the win.
The Titans continue tournament play on Saturday, Feb. 7, against Valpo at 11 am ET, followed by a rematch against DePaul at 4 pm ET.
