ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Lincoln softball team played in two of its closest games of the season on Monday (April 17), but fell to Missouri Western in a pair of one-run decisions. Missouri Western kept LU off the board in the first game for a 1-0 win. In the second, Lincoln led for most of the game, but the Griffons rallied late to hand the Blue Tigers a 3-2 defeat.

Sarah Westhoff hit a double for LU in the second inning of the first game, and Macie Kinsey had a base hit in the top of the fourth. In both innings, however, the Griffons managed to do just enough to keep the runners on the base path.

Lincoln, meanwhile, forced MWSU to strand nine runners on base throughout the course of the game. That includes a third inning in which the Griffons had the bases loaded, and LU stranded all three runners with Lauren Morrow catching a fly ball in left field. Earlier in that frame, however, Missouri Western scored on a double, and that ended up being the difference in the ballgame.

Madison Ragar pitched the complete game, giving up just the one run while striking out three. Morrow led Lincoln's defense with five putouts while Paige Parker and Kinsey each accounted for three. Ragar and Tori Nienhueser both turned two assists.

In the second game, Lincoln (5-41, 2-20 MIAA) got on the board in the first inning with Jordan Lawson scoring on a base hit from Kinsey. Lawson had previously reached on a double. Ragar also had a hit in the frame, but a fielder's choice later ended the inning with LU up, 1-0.

Missouri Western (33-15, 13-9 MIAA) responded in the bottom half of the frame by scoring on a throwing error, but the game did not stay tied for long. Chelsey Kerr reached on a fielder's choice in the top of the second, then claimed second base on a base hit from Maci Marshall. A wild pitch allowed Kerr to reach third, and a second wild pitch brought her home to give Lincoln a 2-1 advantage.

The Blue Tigers held onto that lead until the sixth inning, when Missouri Western used back-to-back doubles to take a 3-2 lead. Lincoln had an opportunity to tie the game back up in the seventh, as Lawson reached third base and Kinsey safely arrived on second, but MWSU forced a strikeout to escape with the win.

Nienhueser also had a hit in the second game, and Westhoff recorded four strikeouts as Lincoln's starting pitcher. Kinsey had a team-high seven putouts and Nienhueser registered three assists while Lawson had two.

The Blue Tigers will play their final home games of 2017 on Wednesday (April 19) when Lincoln hosts Quincy for a 2:00 p.m. CDT  twinbill.