JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - In a thrilling finish that came down to a play at the plate, Lindenwood edged the Lincoln softball team, 6-5, on Saturday (April 9). Lindenwood ended up sweeping a non-conference twinbill against the Blue Tigers, as the Lady Lions won Saturday's first game, 4-0.

Lincoln (5-40) trailed by two entering the bottom of the seventh, but Avery Myers started the comeback bid with a two-out base hit. A fielding error kept Lincoln alive, allowing Spencer Silva to reach safely. That brought up Sarah Westhoff, who launched a pitch into centerfield. Myers easily scored from second, while Silva rounded third and headed for home. Silva reached home plate at the same time as the ball, and was called out to end the ballgame.

Lindenwood (11-33) opened the scoring with a run on a double play in the top of the third, but Lincoln answered with an RBI single by Lauren Stamp in the bottom of half of that frame. The Lady Lions regained the advantage in the top of the fourth, as Lindenwood plated three runs on three hits and two errors to take a 4-1 lead.

The Lady Lions later pushed their lead to four in the top of the fifth, scoring on a bases-loaded fielder's choice. The Blue Tigers cut the deficit down to two in the bottom half of that frame, with Jessica Wolken scoring on a fielder's choice. A ground out later in the frame brought in Tori Nienhueser.

Both teams scored in the sixth inning, with Lindenwood getting a sacrifice fly and Westhoff scoring on an error. The Lady Lions got two base-runners in the top of the seventh, but Lincoln forced two-straight outs to keep the Lindenwood lead at 6-4, setting up the exciting final frame.

Madison Ragar struck out four Lindenwood batters in a complete game effort and turned two assists. Myers and Silva each recorded five putouts while Westhoff and Macie Kinsey were next with four. Nienhueser led LU with four assists and Silva added three.

Lincoln recorded 10 hits, led by three from Myers. Stamp and Westhoff each had two hits while Nienhueser, Kiley Kerr and Hope McLeod each had one. McLeod also scored a run.

In the opener, Lindenwood out-hit Lincoln, 9-2, with Kinsey and Kerr tallying the hits. Lindenwood pushed the first run of the game in the top of the second, and scored two more runs in the third. The Lady Lions closed the game's scoring with a solo homerun in the fifth.

Stamp led the Blue Tigers with nine putouts and Nienhueser and Myers each recorded three. Nienhueser also had four assists, and Silva tallied three. Ragar closed the game in the circle and notched a pair of strikeouts while Kinsey, who started the contest, fanned one.

The Blue Tigers will be back in action on Tuesday (April 12), as LU travels to St. Louis, Mo. to play Maryville in a 3:00 p.m. CDT double-header.