Fulton, Mo. 4/25/2022- The Westminster College softball team hosted the Blackburn College Beavers on Senior Day, Monday afternoon. Westminster honored the careers of their five seniors, Laney Rosson (Columbia, Mo. / Battle), Abbey Jaspering (Wright City, Mo. / Wright City), Bailee Zemianek (Wentzville, MO / Holt), Susan Buchanan, and Lexi Wallner. The trio of Jaspering, Rosson, and Zemianek went a combined 8 for 15, scoring five runs and driving in seven RBIs in the Blue Jays sweep of the Beavers. The Blue Jays won game one, 8-0 and game two, 13-3. Westminster improves to 8-8 in the SLIAC and 10-18 overall. They have now won six of their last eight. Blackburn falls to 4-10 in the SLIAC and 11-15 overall.
Haley Miller (O'Fallon, MO / Liberty) started on the mound in game one and continued her streak of stellar pitching for the Blue Jays. Miller pitched a one-hitter and struck out nine batters. The Blue Jays gave her plenty of run support early, scoring four runs in the second inning. Maddie Marrero (Columbia, Mo. / Rock Bridge) got the inning rolling with a base hit to left field. The reigning SLIAC hitter of the week, Eva Gannon (Wentzville, Mo. / Holt) stayed hot with the bat, getting a base hit of her own. Jaspering would hit a single to left field and loaded the bases. Kelsey Logan (Fulton, Mo./ South Callaway) would keep the bases loaded and score Marrero on a base hit to third. Rosson would drive in one of her two RBIs on the day with a groundout to the shortstop. Emily Esquivel (San Diego, Ca. / Eastlake) kept the line moving with a one-out single to center field and scored another Blue Jay run. Raigan Mckee (Oologah, OK / Oologah) hit a single through the left side of the infield to score the fourth run of the inning, putting the Jays up 4-0.
Westminster would score a run in the fourth and three in the fifth to win game one, 8-0. The Blue Jays were led by Esquivel and Mckee, who both went 3 for 4, driving in two RBIs and scoring one run each. Gannon and Jaspering would go 2 for 3 respectively, both scoring a run. Logan would also score twice.
In between games, Westminster held its senior day festivities, honoring its five senior players.
Much like in game one, the Blue Jays wasted no time scoring runs in game two. They would score 12 of their 13 runs in the first inning. Rosson started the game with a lead-off triple. Esquivel followed up with a double to center field, scoring Rosson. Mckee singled to right. Raegen Dickinson (Ozark, MO / Ozark) got a base hit to center. Kasey Ginder (Kirkwood, Mo. / Kirkwood) drew a walk to load the bases. Zemianek also walked and brought in a run. Gannon would double to left field, scoring two runs. Jaspering doubled to center to score Gannon. Dickinson, in her second at-bat of the inning, hit a double to center and brought in two runs. The Blue Jays scored 12 runs on nine hits total in the inning.
Erin Carr (Woodlawn, Il / Christ Our Rock Lutheran) started game two and pitched a two-hitter. She would strike out three batters in the game. She recorded her fifth win of the year.
The seniors stood out in game two with Jaspering batting .1000, going 3 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Zemianek was also perfect, going 2 for 2 with three RBIs and an RBI. She would also have a walk. Rosson went 1 for 4, but it was a big one. The lead-off triple set the tone of the game. She would score a run and record one RBI. Dickinson also went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
The Blue Jays are back on Tuesday as they host the Webster University Gorloks in the last homestand of the season. Game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.