Fisher throws perfect game; Bruins split at William Penn Classic

William Penn Box Score | Cardinal Stritch Box Score

OSKALOOSA, Iowa -- The Bellevue University softball team fell to William Penn University 7-1 before defeating Cardinal Stritch University 8-0, in five innings, after the first day of the WPU Classic.

The Bruins (11-7) will continue tournament action tomorrow with games scheduled against 23rd-ranked Davenport University and the University of St. Francis (Ill.).

William Penn 7, Bellevue 1

Bellevue left 11 runners on base and the Statesmen scored at least one run in the final four innings to defeat the Bruins 7-1 in their first game of the tournament.

The Statesmen scored two runs on three hits with RBIs by Brittanee Grove and Bri Zerley to take a two-run advantage in the third inning.

Jorden Steele added to WPU's lead with an RBI single in the fourth and Jessica Christensen led the fifth inning off with a solo home run to extend the Statemen's lead to 4-0.

The Bruins scored their lone run of the game in the top of the 6th inning on Kristin Burhenne's two-out double that scored Sydney Robertson who walked earlier in the frame.

Malloree Grove notched an RBI double and her sister, B. Grove, hit a two-run home run to give the Statesmen a 7-1 lead in the home half of the sixth.

Lunden Young improved to 2-3 and struck out five Bruins in the complete game. She gave up six hits and walked six, but gave up just the one run.

Taylor Mohler fell to 5-4 after allowing seven runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts.

Shelby Kindelin and Kaitlyn Goney led the BU offense with two hits apiece.

WPU won its fourth-straight game and improved to 11-6 on the season.

Bellevue 8, Cardinal Stritch 0 (5 innings)

Kelli Fisher threw a perfect game and Augusta Ratliff hit a grand slam to lead the Bruins in an 8-0 win in the nightcap.

Fisher struck out five batters as she improved to 5-2. This marks the second-straight season the Bruins have a thrown a perfect game.

Three-consecutive third inning singles, highlighted by Kindelin's RBI bunt, gave the Bruins their first lead of the day, 1-0.

BU added to its lead in the fourth on Burhenne's RBI single that scored Robertson.

The Bruins exploded for six runs on five hits in the sixth inning, fueled by Ratliff's first career grand slam. Katie Malloy and Robertson also notched RBIs in the inning.

Tori Burke (4-5) took the loss for the Wolves after giving up all eight runs.