JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A fortuitous fifth inning helped Missouri S&T sweep a double-header from the Lincoln softball team on Tuesday evening (March 22). After taking the first contest, 20-2, the Miners cut off a Blue Tiger rally in the second game with seven scores in the fifth to pull out a 12-3 victory.

The Miners scored twice in the first inning and once in the second of the night cap, but LU kept Missouri S&T off the board in the third. S&T brought in a pair of runs in the fourth frame to take a 5-0 lead, but Lincoln mounted a comeback in the bottom half of that frame.

The rally began with Tori Nienhueser reaching on an error. Sarah Westhoff hit a double to move both Blue Tigers into scoring position, and a ground rule double from Spencer Silva brought both players home. In the next at-bat, Lauren Stamp hit a line drive into centerfield to score Silva, cutting the Missouri S&T lead down to 5-3.

Lincoln (2-29) got an early out in the top of the fifth, but the Miners ended up scoring seven runs on six hits to take a nine-run lead. Kiley Kerr led LU off with a single in the bottom of the fifth, and an error later gave Lincoln a pair of base runners. Missouri S&T (9-18) forced a double play, however, to end the contest early.

Stamp went 2-for-2 at the plate while Hope McLeod also had a hit. Nienhueser led the defense with five putouts while Westhoff, Stamp, Avery Myers and Jessica Wolken each had a pair of putouts. Wolken also tallied a team-high three assists.

In the first game, Missouri S&T plated 12 runs in the top of the first inning, and scored multiple times in the second and third frames to earn the win. Both of the Blue Tigers' runs came in the bottom of the third, which began with a base hit from Wolken. Kerr was issued a walk, and a fielding error ended up loading the bases. A single by Megan Heimbaugh brought in Wolken, and Kerr later scored on a sacrifice fly by Nienhueser.

Madison Ragar had a strikeout in the circle, and tied Heimbaugh for the team-lead with five putouts. Silva recorded four assists while Nienhueser was next with two. Heimbaugh went 2-for-3 at the plate while McLeod and Silva also had hits.

The Blue Tigers will be back at Duensing Field on Friday (March 25) to host Northwest Missouri for a 1:00 p.m. CDT double-header.