QUINCY, Ill. - The Lincoln softball team tallied 15 hits and scored nine runs over the course of the final three innings to beat Quincy, 11-2, in game one of a non-conference double-header on Wednesday (April 12). The Hawks ended up winning the second game, 3-2.

Emily Williams and Emma Rakes each scored in the top of the first inning of game one, as Madison Garcia drove in both players on a base hit into right field. Lincoln kept Quincy off the board in the bottom half of the inning, and had a shut out going until the bottom of the fourth, when a solo home run allowed Quincy to cut the LU lead in half.

The Blue Tigers responded in a big way in the top of the fifth, beginning with Myah Dwyer hitting a double after Qwynn Marquez was hit by a pitch. A single from Emma Rakes brought home Marquez, and then Rakes and Dwyer each scored on a base hit through the middle to put Lincoln ahead, 5-1. Callahan later scored on an error to give LU a five-run cushion.

A double steal allowed Quincy to score its second and final run of the opener in the bottom of the fifth, but the Blue Tigers kept the pressure on the Hawks the rest of the way. In the seventh inning, each of Lincoln's first eight batters safely got on base, allowing LU to send five more runs across the plate. Rakes scored on a double steal, Callahan came home on a base hit by Williams, and Kennedy Schanuth drove in Williams after a double by Garcia.

Maris Ollison put Lincoln ahead 11-2 with a two-RBI base hit, and Leah Wagner and Marquez also had hits in the frame. Garcia ended the game with three hits, Rakes scored three runs and Ollison, Garcia and Callahan each finished with two RBI. Dwyer, Callahan, Williams and Schanuth each finished with two hits. Jordan Galliher picked up her third win of the season in a complete-game effort in the circle.

Rakes led LU defensively with eight putouts, Williams finished with five and Dwyer added three. Callahan led the Blue Tigers with three assists.

Lincoln was held to two hits in game two, but scored a pair of runs to keep the game tight for all seven innings. An RBI single in the first inning allowed Quincy (15-19) to take an early 1-0 lead, but the Blue Tigers had an answer in the top of the second. Williams was issued a walk to lead off the frame, and, after she stole second, she ended up scoring on a throwing miscue by the Hawks. The score would remain tied until the third inning, when the Hawks scored on a solo home run.

Rakes led the fourth inning off with a triple before scoring on a ground out by Williams. That knotted the score up at 2-2, but also marked the final time that Lincoln (5-31) would score on the afternoon. Ashton Stalling had a base hit in the top of the fifth, but neither team got another run across the plate until the bottom of the sixth inning, when a two-out single drove in the game-winning run.

Rakes had six putouts to lead the Lincoln defense while Garcia finished with four. Dwyer, Callahan and Wagner each finished with two apiece. Ollison, Stalling and Joss Marriott, meanwhile, each turned two assists.

Due to forecasts calling for inclement weather, Lincoln's next games will be on Sunday, April 16, as the Blue Tigers host Nebraska Kearney at the newly-renovated LU Softball Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CDT.