TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The Lincoln softball team tallied eight hits and had zero errors, but an RBI double in the fifth inning helped Northeastern State slip past the Blue Tigers, 5-4, on Friday (March 30). That came in the second contest of a double-header, as the RiverHawks won the opener, 8-0.

A two-RBI single by Tori Nienhueser allowed the Blue Tigers to take the early lead in the first inning of the nightcap. Kiley Kerr, who led the frame off with a single, and Rachael Balke, who reached via an error, scored the runs for LU, and Jordan Lawson had a hit to move both players into scoring position.

Lincoln (5-27, 0-14 MIAA) kept Northeastern State (20-15, 8-4 MIAA) off the board in the first and second frames, but the RiverHawks took the lead with four runs in the third, three of which came on home runs. The teams played tremendous defense until the fifth inning, when the Blue Tigers rallied to tie up the score.

Lawson and Kiley Kerr both scored on a single through the middle by Chelsey Kerr, with Lawson and Andrea Wanta each having hits in the frame. Lawson went 3-for-3 at the plate in Friday's second game, while Mykenzie Livesay also had a single.

Northeastern State took back the lead with its RBI double in the bottom half of the frame, and neither team was able to push a run past the plate afterwards. Lawson hit a double in the seventh inning to give Lincoln a chance to force extra innings, but a ground out ended the game.

Madison Ragar pitched the complete game and struck out four batters while Camryn Pryor and Emily Williams each had five putouts. Nienhueser led the Blue Tigers with three assists.

In the opener on Friday, the game was scoreless until the third inning, when a solo homerun proved to be the winning run. NSU added a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and scored five more times over the next two frames to end the contest in six innings. Chelsey Kerr, Kiley Kerr and Balke had the only hits of the contest for LU.

Delayne Patton notched a strikeout in the circle, and Chelsey Kerr had five putouts to lead the Blue Tiger defense. Livesay provided two assists while Nienhueser had one.

Lincoln will remain in the Sooner State on Saturday (March 31) to play Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla. in a 12:00 p.m. CDT double-header.