JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln softball team scored 21 runs on 26 hits, but came up short in a pair of games against Nebraska Kearney on Saturday (March 23). The Lopers edged the Blue Tigers, 9-8, in the first game, and won the second, 22-13.

A Rachael Balke home run drove in three scores in the bottom of the first to put Lincoln up, 3-1, but the Lopers responded with five scores in the second inning. The three-run advantage would stand until the fourth inning, when a homer by Trista Heavin brought in Tori Nienhueser and Gabi McGinty to tie the game at six.

After forcing a three-up, three-down inning, Lincoln went back to work in the fifth, as Nienhueser drove in Mykenzie Livesay on a double before scoring on a Nebraska Kearney error. That gave LU a two-run advantage, but a pair of errors by the Blue Tigers set up UNK for a three-run homer of its own in the sixth for the final runs of the ballgame.

Jordan Lawson went 3-for-3 at the plate and Nienhueser and McGinty each had two hits, with Nienhueser scoring twice. Emily Williams, Bekah Kirker and Camryn Pryor also had hits for the Blue Tigers. Starter Hannah Hennessy had a strikeout in the circle, and Pryor led the defense with seven putouts while Lawson was next with five. Livesay added six assists.

Game two featured 34 combined hits, with Nebraska Kearney (8-14, 4-4 MIAA) grabbing an early lead with a pair of runs in the first inning and six more in the second. Lincoln (4-24, 1-11 MIAA) responded in a big way in the bottom half of the second, scoring 10 runs on 10 hits, with Livesay hitting two doubles in the frame. Nienhueser and Williams also had two hits apiece in the second inning.

Unfortunately for the Blue Tigers, it was also a big offensive day for the Lopers, who answered with a 10-run frame of their own in the top of the third. UNK went on to score twice in the fifth inning, once in the sixth, and three more times in the seventh to secure the nine-run victory.

After falling behind, 16-10, Lincoln rallied to get within three of the Lopers when Balke scored in the fourth inning on a UNK throwing error. The Blue Tigers had previously plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on back-to-back singles by Lawson and Pryor.

Kirker, Lawson and Pryor each had two hits in the night cap, with Pryor also tallying three RBI. Livesay and Nienhueser had two RBI apiece, and Kirker, Lawson, Balke, Livesay and Williams each scored twice during the contest. Balke and Heavin also had hits for LU.

Defensively, Lincoln was led by Pryor with eight putouts and Livesay with four. Livesay also had four assists while Kirker was next with three.

Lincoln begins a six-game road trip on Wednesday (March 27) when the Blue Tigers visit Quincy, Ill. for a 2:00 p.m. CDT non-conference double-header against Quincy.