Story Headlines- The Northwest Missouri State softball team picked up a pair of victories in the regular season finale against Washburn Sunday afternoon in Maryville.
- The Bearcats used a pair of solo home runs and held off a late Ichabod rally to take game one, 3-2.
- Northwest plated five runs in the second inning of game two and never looked back, taking the nightcap, 7-4.
- The Bearcats improved their record to 24-22 overall and 16-10 in the conference, while Washburn dropped to 27-22 this season and 14-12 in the MIAA.
- The twin bill was the final home game for Bearcat seniors
Stephanie Mark,
Paige Blythe,
Abbie Vitosh and
Lindsey Holt.
- 244 fans were in attendance, the highest attendance at Bearcat Field this season.
- Northwest will now prepare for the MIAA tournament, which begins Thursday, April 30 in Overland Park, Kan.
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Game One Key Statistics (Northwest 3, Washburn 2)
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Sarah Baldwin earned her tenth victory this season after giving up just four hits in 6.2 innings pitched while striking out four Ichabod batters.
- Senior
Paige Blythe picked up the save after inducing a harmless ground ball to
Chantel Adams at third for the final out.
- Adams crushed her ninth home run of the season in her first at-bat.
- Senior
Stephanie Mark had a solo home run of her own to lead off the fourth inning.
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Cassidy Lee singled and scored a run.
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Rebecca Maher drove in her 33rd run this year with a single.
Game One Key Innings-
Chantel Adams sent a home run that just cleared the fence in left center in the bottom of the second to open the scoring.
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Stephanie Mark destroyed the first pitch to deep center field after leading off in the fourth inning.
- After a rally in the fifth appeared to be thwarted by a double play,
Cassidy Lee reached on an infield single to give the Bearcats new life.
Rebecca Maher's single to right got away from the diving right fielder, allowing Lee to score from first.
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Baylee Scarbrough made a great running grab in foul territory in the top of the third.
- With two runners on base,
Kendle Schieber made a sliding catch to end the fifth inning without any damage.
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Game Two Key Statistics (Northwest 7, Washburn 4)
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Kendle Schieber went the distance for the Bearcats, striking out eight after giving up five hits and just one walk. At the plate the junior finished 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
- Freshman catcher
Jessica Rawie collected two RBI on a pair of base hits.
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Abigail Gilson crushed a double down the left field line in her first at bat, driving in one run and ultimately coming around to score.
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Chantel Adams scored a pair of runs after reaching base on a double and a walk.
- Senior
Stephanie Mark scored one run to finish the regular season tied for the team lead with 41.
Game Two Key Innings- The Bearcats had seven straight batters reach base safely in the second inning to put up five early runs. After
Stephanie Mark drew a leadoff walk,
Chantel Adams moved her to third with a double to left center. Baylee Scarbough was hit by a pitch to load the bases for
Kendle Schieber, who sent a single to centerfield. The fielder bobbled the ball, allowing two runs to score. Another run crossed the plate when
Abigail Gilson sent a sharp line drive to the third baseman, who was unable to control it. The final two runs came in to score when
Jessica Rawie drove a single back up the middle to score Schieber and Gilson.
- Northwest padded its lead in the third when Schieber crushed a no-doubt home run to left center. Adams came in to score on the homer after drawing a walk earlier in the inning.
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Up Next- The Bearcats will travel to Overland Park, Kan. on Thursday, April 30 for the MIAA Tournament. The team will play two games on Thursday with the first round beginning at 6 p.m. Be sure to check bearcatsports.com later this week for tournament updates, including opponents and ticket information.
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