WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State softball team split a double header against the University of Central Missouri Jennies Saturday afternoon.

Northwest took game one, 3-1, and the Jennies came back to take game two in eight innings, 9-8.

GAME ONE
Both the Bearcats and the Jennies were held scoreless until the bottom of the third when Central Missouri put one run on the board.

In the fourth, Northwest was able to tie it up after Olivia Daugherty scored on a UCM throwing error.

Then in the fifth, Olivia Daugherty singled to center to score Brylee Kemper. Later in the inning, Madison Friest hit a double to right field allowing Jacee Winn to score and give the Bearcats a 3-1 lead.

The trio of Jacee Winn, Olivia Daugherty, and Madison Friest all recorded two hits.

Breck Dickey pitched a complete game striking out six batters and giving up one earned run. Dickey earned her third straight win and improved to 8-12 on the season with the 3-1 triumph.

GAME TWO
Northwest started off hot as Jacee Winn singled up the middle, and two batters later Abby Nolte hit a homer to left field recording two. The Jennies came back in the bottom of the first scoring two runs of their own to even things up at 2-2.

In the third, UCM took the lead at 3-2. That lead was short lived as Lauren Gray doubled to left field to score Abby Nolte and Olivia Daugherty.

In the fourth inning, the Jennies were able to tie things up once again at 4-4.

Jacee Winn recorded an RBI with a sacrifice bunt that allowed Briley Kemper to score in the top of the sixth. Just like the fourth inning, UCM added a run in the bottom of the inning giving the game another tie at 5-5.

In the top of the seventh, Sophie Mayhugh hit a single down the left field line which allowed Lauren Gray to score and put Northwest back on top, 6-5. Central Missouri went on to tally another run which meant extra innings in Warrensburg.

With the score tied at 6-6 in the top of the eighth, Northwest had Abby Nolte on first after she walked. Madison Friest came up to the plate and with no hesitation she hit a two-run homer to left field to give the Bearcats a two-run cushion. With that dinger, Friest recorded her seventh home run of the season.

The two-run cushion would not be enough as the Jennies scored three runs in the bottom of the frame to take game two, 9-8.

Hayden Simmons pitched into the fourth inning striking out five batters and giving up four runs. Raven Defrain relieved Simmons and gave up up five runs, three of them earned.

Skylar Pieper and Abby Nolte were the only Bearcats to record two hits in game two.

NOTES: With Abby Nolte's home run in the first inning, she hit her 11th home run of the season, tying for ninth-best single-season total in Bearcat history. She has hit 22 career home runs, which ties for the ninth best in program history ... Northwest is now 13-36 overall, 7-17 MIAA, and finishes up its final games of the season tomorrow against Lincoln University at Battle High School in Columbia, Mo.