Grabbing lead two batters into season opener allows QND softball team to roll
BOWEN, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame softball team gave Caitlin Bunte all the support she’d need before she ever stepped in the pitcher’s circle.
The Raiders scored three runs in the top of the first inning Thursday and Bunte allowed just two hits as they opened the season with an 8-0 victory over Southeastern.
Bunte struck out 10, walked two and surrendered two singles over six innings. Brooke Boden worked the final inning and struck out the side.
The Raiders’ offense got off to a swinging start as Bunte led off the game with a triple to center field. Following an error that allowed Bunte to score, Alyssa Ley singled and Morgan Zanger scored on the backend of a double steal. Consecutive singles by Lauren Miller and Payton Stupavsky added another run.
A Bunte walk and a Zanger triple plated a run in the second, while a two-out, two-run single by Allie Vranjes made it 6-0 in the fifth. Miller delivered a two-out, two-run double in the sixth. The middle of the Raiders’ lineup — Ley, Miller and Stupavsky — combined to go 9 for 11 with four runs scored.
QND (1-0) will host a triangular at The Backyard on Saturday, facing Calhoun at 12:45 p.m. and Illini West at 2:30 p.m.
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