LEBANON, Ill. - The Lincoln softball team racked up 10 hits, but dropped both games of a double-header at McKendree on Tuesday (March 14). LU fell in the first game, 12-0, and lost the second, 8-4.

In the second game, McKendree (12-5) took an early 3-0 lead after the first inning and scored on a triple and sacrifice fly in the fourth to go ahead 5-0. Lincoln (3-11) fought back in the top of the sixth, nearly tying the game after picking up five hits.

Leslie Callahan led the frame off with a a base hit, stole second, then reached third on a single from Qwynn Marquez. Madison Garcia then drove a pitch up the middle to bring in Callahan, cutting the Bearcat lead to 5-1. Two at-bats later, Maris Ollison made it a one-run contest with a home run over the centerfield wall. Emma Rakes later got on with a base hit and stole second, but McKendree kept the score at 5-4 with a strikeout.

McKendree would tack on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth for the 8-4 final. Callahan, Marquez and Rakes each had two hits and Katie Blair finished with one. Ashton Stalling struck out three McKendree batters and Maddie Welker notched one. Leah Wagner led LU with five putouts and Marquez tallied four. Callahan turned three assists while Ollison recorded two.

In the opener, Lincoln's lone hit of the ballgame came in the fourth inning, when Callahan led the frame off with a double. She advanced to third on a passed ball, but was stranded there as McKendree preserved its shutout. Joss Marriott, Stalling and Welker each had one strikeout apiece in the circle. Wagner finished with four putouts and Blair notched three.

Lincoln opens its home slate on Friday (March 10) by hosting Pittsburg State in LU's first MIAA double-header of 2023. Both games will be played at Vogel Field in Jefferson City, with first pitched scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CST.