Bearcats back to .500
JOPLIN, Mo. — The Northwest softball team picked up a two-game sweep of Missouri Southern Saturday to fortify itself in the middle of the MIAA standings.
With victories of 9-2 and 5-0, the Bearcats stand at 19-19 with a 12-8 mark in conference play, good for seventh in the MIAA.
In game one, Northwest jumped on Lions starter Ashley Lutz with a trio of runs in the first inning. Senior first baseman Stephanie Mark smacked an RBI double to left field to put the Bearcats on the board, followed by sophomore right fielder Baylee Scarbrough knocking in freshman shortstop Rebecca Maher with an RBI single. Junior left fielder Kendle Schieber rounded out the first inning with her own run-scoring single to bring in Mark.
However, Missouri Southern countered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single from Myranda Stewart and outfielder Abi Corbett coming home on a wild pitch.
The Bearcats finished the opening contest with seven unanswered runs, with four coming in the third inning, one in the fifth and one in the top of the seventh. Scarbrough scored on a throwing error by Lutz in the third before sophomore center fielder Cassidy Lee brought in freshman catcher Jessica Rawie and Schieber with a double. Maher brought in sophomore second baseman Torri Blythe with a sacrifice fly.
Rawie scored again in the fifth on another RBI knock from Lee before Blythe scored in the seventh on a single from Mark.
Lee went 4-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored. Junior starter Sarah Baldwin tossed seven innings, allowing seven hits and two earned runs.
After four innings of scoreless ball in the second stage of the doubleheader, Rawie finally put a run on the board for Northwest with an RBI single to left field with the bases loaded to score Scarbrough. Blythe then knocked a double down the right field line to bring home Schieber and freshman designated hitter Abigail Wilson.
Schieber blasted a two-run homer in the sixth to extend the lead to 5-0. She tossed a complete-game shutout on the mound with seven strikeouts while giving up just four hits to earn her seventh win of the season. Schieber and Wilson each tallied a pair of hits in game two.
Northwest split with Pittsburg State on Friday, losing game one 8-7 after the Gorrillas rallied from a 7-3 deficit to win in eight innings before bouncing back with an 11-1 win in game two to kick off a three-game winning streak.
Scarbrough and Mark both homered in game one.
Schieber threw a complete-game one-hitter in the second game of the double-header while sophomore third baseman Chantel Adams homered and drove in five runs.
Following the sweep, which gives the Bearcats three straight wins, they’ll face Truman State starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday in a nonconference doubleheader.
