Horrific weather slammed the St. Louis area on April 28, causing Game 2 of the Webster University softball team’s doubleheader against Principia College to be canceled. The teams did get the first game in, and the Gorloks defeated the Panthers 10-2 in five innings.
With the win and the canceled game, Webster ended the regular season with a 17-20 overall record and an 11-4 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record. The Gorloks earned the No. 2 seed for the SLIAC tournament and will play No. 3 Blackburn College (19-19 overall, 9-5 SLIAC).
Fontbonne University (24-10, 13-1) is the top seed and will play No. 4 Greenville College (14-23, 8-8) in the double-elimination event. The tournament will be held at Fontbonne’s home facility, ABC Ball Park in Saint Ann.
Webster will play Blackburn on May 3 at 5 p.m. Later that day, Webster will take on either Fontbonne or Blackburn at 7 p.m., depending on the outcome of the games.
“They’re pretty excited, I know that,” assistant coach Chelsea Schaffer said. “I think they’re ready to go out there and win it. A lot of the girls are excited, and they really think they can win the tournament and move on to regionals.”
In Webster’s final tuneup before the SLIAC tournament against Principia in Elsah, Ill., the Gorloks’ offense picked up in the second inning to score two runs, and Webster never looked back from there. Webster took a commanding lead in the fifth when it scored five runs to finish off the Panthers.
Three of the 13 hits by the Gorloks belonged to sophomore infielder Kristie Konersmann. She went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Konersmann said she wanted to do well in this game so she could carry momentum into the conference tournament.
“I was feeling more comfortable — Principia is not a very tough team, but I knew I needed to find some confidence leading up to the tournament,” Konersmann said. “I considered where the pitcher had been throwing the ball and what my job was to do at each situation. It was about doing my job and building momentum.”
On the mound for the Gorloks was sophomore pitcher Trisha Thompson, who recorded her 10th victory of the season. Thompson pitched all five innings and allowed one earned run on three hits. She was hoping for her third no-hitter of the season, but fell a little bit short.
“I was happy with the win, but I was a little disappointed with myself,” Thompson said. “I was hoping to pick up another no-hitter before the conference tournament started, but I’m glad we got the victory.”
Earlier this season on April 4, the Gorloks traveled to Blackburn and defeated the Beavers in both contests, 4-2 and 14-5. In order for the Gorloks to win again, they will have to play a well-rounded game, Schaffer said.
“We have to go out there and play offense and defense in the same game,” Schaffer said. “We played some games in the past where we only come out offensively strong or defensively strong. I think if we come out all around playing well, there is no doubt in my mind we’ll take this tournament.”
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