Pippa Passes, KY – UPIKE softball hit the road Wednesday afternoon for a matchup with Alice Llloyd resulting in a pair of dominating victories for the Bears by scores of 10-3 and 9-0. The Bears hit not one but two grand slams on the day, coming off the bats of Brynna Souels and Katelyn Byrd.

Game 1 | W, 10-3

Senior Megan Claypoole manned the circle for the first contest of the day and delivered six shutout innings, allowing the Eagles just two hits. The win is Claypoole's fifth win on the season and her second shutout.

The Bears had one of their better offensive showings of 2021 in game one, aided along by good at-bats resulting in baserunners from walks and hit-by-pitch trips to first. The highlight of the game came in the top of the seventh as Byrd stepped up to the plate and crushed the Bears' first grand slam of the season, extending the lead to nine, the homer is her second of the season after notching her first over the weekend against Shawnee State. UPIKE added one more insurance run in the inning before holding the Eagles to three in the final frame to seal the win.

Game 2 | W, 9-0

Sophie Kluesner led off the first inning with a poke to right field, stirring up what would be an 11-hit effort from the Bears. The second baseman led the team with a career-high three hits, an RBI, three stolen bases and a run scored.Freshman Megan Nethercutt struck for her first career homerun with a solo shot in the top of the fourth, she finished 2-3 including a double and two RBIs.

In the top of the fifth, senior Brynna Souels came in to pinch hit and launched what would be her first career homerun and the second grand slam of the day over the fence in left, putting the Bears up 9-0. 

The Bears got on the board first in the top of the third inning as Kelsey White and Kluesner crossed after reaching on a walk and a base hit, scoring later on a single from Byrd. Nethercutt's solo home run scored the first of two in the fourth, the second coming by way of an RBI from Kluesner that scored Kayleigh Poe. The firepower was on display in the fifth frame where the Bears scored five runs on five hits, four coming from Souel's grand slam.

Kaitlyn Mullins got the call to start for the Bears and was lights out, shutting out the Eagles and allowing just a single hit in what would be her best performance of the season. Mattea Ware capped off the win with a hitless fifth inning.

UPIKE softball returns to the diamond Friday, April 9th for the first doubleheader of a weekend series with Campbellsville. First pitch at Paul Butcher Field is slated for 2PM.