MARYVILLE, Mo. – For the fifth consecutive season, the Northwest Missouri State softball team is headed to the MIAA conference tournament as they split a double header with Northeastern State Saturday taking game one, 6-5, before falling in game two, 14-13, in nine innings.

Chantel Adams hit her 11^th double of the season to plate Jordan Ereth and Torri Blythe to get her team on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Adams then scored from second with a double by Kristen Uthe.

NSU answered back with one run in the third, two in the fourth and one more in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead.

Steph Mark singled in Ereth to tie the game up at 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning before the RiverHawks reclaimed the lead with one run in the top of the sixth.

Baylee Scarbrough brought the game back to even at 6-6 with a solo home run to left center field, her fourth of the year.

With bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Mark hit her fourth walk off hit of the season giving her team the 6-5 victory and punching their ticket to the conference tournament.

Paige Blythe earned the win as she threw 3.0 innings in relief giving up one earned run and striking out two.

Game two quickly turned into a slugfest with the teams combining for 26 hits and 27 runs in nine innings.

Taszia Roseberry, Jill Henry, Mark, and Adams all hit home runs. For Henry, it was her first collegiate home run.

The game went into extra innings and NSU took a 14-11 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. The Bearcats managed two runs, falling a run short as they split the double header.

Abbie Vitosh received the loss as she pitched the final three innings moving her record to 7-12 on the season.

Northwest will take on rival Missouri Western when the conference tournament begins on Thursday. Specific dates and times will be put out in a release as soon as they are available.