The Park University softball team’s offensive struggles continued as the Pirates were swept by the Baker University Wildcats in the last home game of the season on April 23.

In game one, the Pirates were shutout for a second straight game with a 2-0 loss. Baker’s starting pitcher, Skylar Gorrell, tossed a one-hitter complete-game shutout. She struck out seven of 23 batters while giving up no walks in seven innings.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth. Baker broke the deadlock when they strung together three consecutive hits to knock in two runs. Both of those earned runs were charged to Park senior pitcher Adrianna Solary. While Solary took the loss, she was otherwise brilliant for Park as she went the complete game with seven strikeouts while giving up six hits and a walk.

In game two, the Pirates suffered a 9-2 loss plagued by defensive errors. Park took the lead in the bottom of the first as their patience at the plate paid off when senior third baseman Hannah Pappert drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs.

After Baker tied it 1-1 in the top of the third, Park responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Senior Lexie Duncan hit an RBI double with no outs to put the Pirates back in front 2-1 as freshman Dani-Quinn Klein crossed the plate.

A solid start from Park’s pitcher Dakota Rau quickly went south, and she was relieved by Duncan in the top of the fifth. The Pirates gave up five runs, with three errors, as the Wildcats pulled ahead 6-2.

After a quick sixth inning, Baker’s bats came back to life when Alexis Lowrance hit a leadoff home run in the top of the seventh. That was followed by two more runs as the Wildcats completed the two-game sweep of the Pirates with a total of 12 hits in game two.

Park ended game two with four errors and seven left on base. The team dropped to 16-26 overall and 10-22 in conference.

Now on a 13-game losing streak, Park is on the road for the remaining six games of the season. The next pair of games will be on Friday, April 29, when the team visits Evangel University.