LEBANON, Ill. - The Lincoln softball team produced 12 hits, but ended up falling in both games of a double-header against McKendree on Wednesday (April 13). The Bearcats took the first game, 8-3, and the second, 9-1.

Six different Blue Tigers had a hit in the first game, including Jessica Wolken, who brought in Megan Heimbaugh on a single in the top of the sixth inning. Heimbaugh had initially got on base via a single, and a base hit from Hope McLeod moved her into scoring position. Later in that inning, a single from Tori Nienhueser plated McLeod, and Lauren Stamp scored Wolken on a sacrifice fly.

Those runs cut McKendree's lead in half, 6-3, but the Bearcats brought in two more scores in the bottom of the sixth for the five-run win. Spencer Silva and Kiley Kerr also had hits for Lincoln, but McKendree finished with a 11-6 edge in that stat.

Madison Ragar pitched the complete game and fanned three Bearcat batters. Stamp led LU defensively with nine putouts and Avery Myers tallied four. Silva contributed six assists to the Blue Tiger cause while Nienhuesder provided four.

In the second game, both teams were scoreless in the first inning, but McKendree (21-21) broke the contest open in the second frame with six runs on six hits. Lincoln (5-44) tallied its only run of the game in the top of the third, as Kerr drove in Sarah Westhoff with a base hit. Westhoff had initially got on base via a double. After Kerr's RBI, McLeod and Wolken each hit singles to load the bases, but McKendree forced a fly out to strand all three runners.

The score remained 6-1 until the bottom of the fifth, when the Bearcats regained a six-run advantage on an RBI ground out. The Blue Tigers stranded a runner in the top of the sixth, and McKendree ended the game early in its half of the frame with two more scores off RBI singles.

McLeod led LU with two hits while Myers also had one. Westhoff notched a strikeout in the circle and Macie Kinsey led Lincoln with 10 putouts. Nienhueser recorded seven assists, Silva contributed three and Myers added two.

The Blue Tigers will have a week off until their next games, a twinbill in Quincy, Ill. against Quincy on Wednesday (April 20). First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CDT.