COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Blue Tigers hit three home runs and battled hard all day, but the Lincoln softball team dropped a pair of hard-fought games to Northwest Missouri on Sunday (May 1). LU rallied late, but dropped the first game, 14-6, while NWMSU rallied in the final innings to take the second contest, 7-5.
 
The first game was scoreless through the first inning, but Northwest Missouri broke it open in the top of the second with four runs. Lincoln got on the board in the third inning with the first of its homers on the day, as Emily Williams knocked the ball over the right centerfield fence to pull LU to within 4-1.
 
The Bearcats extended their lead with four runs in the fifth inning and another in the sixth, but Lincoln continued to battle. Alivia Rymer led the frame off with another home run, and Jordan Hollon scored from first on a double by Alex Miller. A wild pitch later allowed Miller to come home, pulling the Blue Tigers to within 9-4.
 
Ashton Stalling got the offense going again with a double, and LU loaded the bases with Qwynn Marquez reaching via a walk and Leslie Callahan tallying a single on a bunt. Williams then drove in Stalling with a sacrifice fly to cut the NWMSU lead down to four. In the next at-bat, Jacqueline Marquez drove in Qwynn Marquez with a base hit, pulling LU to within 9-6. Lincoln would load the bases once more, but Northwest Missouri got the final out to escape the frame clinging to a three-run advantage.
 
Northwest Missouri took advantage of some big hits of its own, including a grand slam, in the top of the seventh to pull away for the win. Lincoln finished with seven hits, including one by Qwynn Marquez, and ended up stranding seven runners on base throughout the ballgame.
 
Aidan Dayberry struck out three NWMSU batters as LU's starting pitcher, and Stalling closed the game in the circle with two more strikeouts. Chloe Olson led Lincoln with five putouts, and Williams and Leah Wagner each had three. Rymer finished with three assists, and Hollon contributed two.
 
In the second game of the day, it was Lincoln scoring first, as Callahan and Williams led the opening frame off with base hits before Wagner got on board via an error. Miller was hit by a pitch, bringing in LU's first run of the contest, and Olson later drove in two more scores with a deep base hit into right field. The Bearcats wouldn't get on the board until the third inning, when NWMSU led the frame off with a solo home run.
 
Lincoln (12-35, 0-26 MIAA) responded in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Callahan hit a homer of her own. Qwynn Marquez opened the inning with a base hit into right, and Callahan increased the LU lead to 5-1 by knocking the ball over the center field fence.
 
The Bearcats got two of those runs back in the top of the fifth, however, scoring on a sacrifice fly and a Lincoln error. In the bottom half of the fifth, Hollon and Qwynn Marquez each had hits, but NWMSU managed to force a line out to keep the score at 5-3.
 
Northwest Missouri (15-36, 9-17 MIAA) capitalized on its opportunity in the top of the sixth, turning a lead-off ground rule double into another score. The Bearcats continued to rally later in the frame, scoring three runs with two outs on the board to ultimately take a 7-5 lead.

Miller and Hollon, Lincoln's two graduating seniors, each had two hits in the contest, with both players notching a hit in the final at-bats of their careers. Miller also pitched the final 1.3 innings and had four strikeouts. Jordan Galliher started in the circle and fanned five NWMSU batters.

Callahan, Olson and Qwynn Marquez also had two hits apiece while Rymer and Williams each had one. Defensively, Wagner led LU with eight putouts, and Williams and Rymer each contributed four. Callahan, Galliher, Wagner, Hollon and Jacqueline Marquez each turned an assist.