JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln softball team rallied in the seventh inning to beat Truman State, 2-1, in the first game of a double-header on Saturday afternoon (April 12). The Blue Tigers and the Bulldogs were also fairly evenly matched in the second game, with Truman State edging Lincoln, 4-3.

The Blue Tigers only had three hits in the opener, and they all came in the seventh inning, which began with TSU holding a 1-0 advantage. The Bulldogs scored their only run in the top of the third, as a triple followed by a sacrifice fly allowed Truman State (21-22, 9-11 GLVC) to take the first lead of the day. The Bulldogs finished with just six hits and Lincoln (13-25, 4-16 GLVC) stranded six Truman State base runners en route to the victory.

After forcing Truman State to go three-up, three-down in the top of the seventh, Lincoln began to find its offense, starting with Abbi Conrad hitting a lead-off single. Ann-Marie Simpson laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Conrad to second, and Vanessa Cardenas advanced her to third with a base hit through the middle. Conrad rounded the bag and started heading home, beating the throw to tie the game at one. Cardenas took second on the attempt to get the out at the plate, then later scored herself when Emily Thompson hit an outfield single.

Abby Pulliam earned her sixth win of the season with a complete-game performance and struck out two Bulldog batters while allowing just the one run. Conrad led LU defensively with six putouts and an assist. Vardenas was responsible for four outs while Simpson, Kierra O'Rourke and Lindsey Brandt were each credited with three putouts. Mackenzie Graham had two assists and Addie Lang and Josie Bezzole tallied one apiece.

In the second game of the day, Truman State plated two runs in the top of the first inning, one on a double and another when a runner came in from third while another base runners was caught in a throwdown. Cardenas cut the deficit down to one in the bottom half of the first, however, as a base hit followed by a fielding error allowed her to reach third base. Cardenas then scored on a wild pitch.

TSU scored again on a triple in the third inning, but LU pulled back to within 3-2 when Hannah Heisler scored on a base hit by Simpson. Truman State pushed its advantage back up to two in the top of the fifth on an RBI double, and the 4-2 score held until the bottom of the sixth. In that frame, Graham hit a double, then was replaced as a runner by Chesney Luebbering. A passed ball allowed Luebbering to move to third, and a sacrifice bunt from Thompson brought her home.

In the top of the seventh, Truman State threatened to score once again, moving two runners into scoring position with no outs on the board. Strong pitching by Kasey Kilburn allowed Lincoln to get out of the jam, as she struck out the next batter, forced a line out and then ended the frame with a pop out, stranding both runners and keeping it a one-run ballgame. Conrad got on base for Lincoln in the bottom of the inning via a walk, but the Bulldogs ended the inning with her still on first.

Conrad, Simpson, Cardenas, Graham and Gabby Newman all had hits and Simpson, Heisler and Newman each stole a base. Cardenas posted a team-high eight putouts and Newman finished with four putouts and two assists. Graham had a team-leading five assists, Jamilyn Bigby finished with three and Conrad recorded two.

Lincoln is back at LU Softball Field on Sunday (April 13) to host Quincy in a 12:00 p.m. CDT double-header.