MAGNOLIA, Ark. - The Lincoln softball team opened its 2016 campaign on Friday (Feb. 5) with two games as part of the SAU Softball Invitational. The Blue Tigers made several outstanding plays on the defensive side of the ball, but ended up falling both games. Below are brief recaps of the contests:

Delta State 6, Lincoln 1
The Statesmen got on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run double, but the Blue Tigers answered in the second. Tori Nienhueser led the frame off with a double, and a ground out ended up moving her to third. Jessica Wolken then hit a grounder that forced the DSU shortstop to make a diving stop, good for an RBI single.

Lincoln would go on to have two runners on base before the end of that inning, but LU was held to just the one run. In the bottom of the second, Delta State used a two-out, two-RBI double to go up 4-1. A pair of RBI singles later in that inning made it 6-1, though the Blue Tigers kept the Statesmen off the board through the final four frames.

Wolken had two of Lincoln's four hits in the contest while Avery Myers had the other. Nienhueser made several great plays at shortstop, including a leaping grab on a short fly to prevent what would otherwise have been a definite hit, and finished the contest with six putouts and three assists.

Macie Kinsey also had six putouts while Myers finished with three and Wolken added two. Spencer Silva, Madison Ragar and Lauren Stamp each had an assist. Ragar pitched the first five innings and had a strikeout while Stamp closed the game and allowed no runs and just one hit.

Southern Arkansas 8, Lincoln 0
An outstanding pitching performance by the Muleriders led to a five-inning win for Southern Arkansas. SAU racked up 10 strikeouts and held the Blue Tigers without a hit.

A solo homerun in the bottom of the first opened the scoring for Southern Arkansas (0-1), but Lincoln (0-2) pitched a shutout through the next two frames. Hope McLeod and Kiley Kerr both made two huge putouts in the outfield to prevent SAU from adding to its lead, keeping the Blue Tigers in the ballgame.

The Muleriders finally broke open the game in the bottom of the fourth, using a three-run homer to spark a seven-run inning. The Blue Tigers were unable to get on the board in the top of the fifth, leading to the early ending.

Lauren Stamp led Lincoln with five putouts while Jessica Wolken and Sarah Westhoff each made assists. Westhoff pitched 3.2 innings, and Macie Kinsey closed the game by retiring the only batter she faced.

Lincoln continues the SAU Softball Invitational on Saturday (Feb. 6) with games against Cameron at 10:00 a.m. CST and Texas Women's University at 12:00 p.m. CST.