ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Northwest Missouri State University softball team pick up a pair of wins over Missouri S&T and Henderson State at the Hawkins-McGhee Memorial Tournament at Dee White Field Saturday.
 
Northwest began the day's action with a 7-1 victory over Missouri S&T. The loss dropped the Miners to 0-3. Northwest then picked up a 3-1 triumph over Henderson State on its home field. Northwest is 2-2 on the season.
 
NORTHWEST 7, MISSOURI S&T 1
The Bearcats put up their first win of the 2025 season by downing Missouri S&T, 7-1. Northwest put up 10 hits and freshman starting pitcher Rien Moore limited the Miners to two hits in six innings of work.
 
Lillie Filger extended her hitting streak to nine games with a single in the first inning. Omara Love replaced Filger on the base paths with a fielder's choice. Love stole second to move into scoring position. Love scored from second on two-out, RBI-single to center from Skylar Pieper to give Northwest a 1-0 lead in the first.
 
Northwest added two more two-out runs in the second inning to boost the Bearcat lead to 3-0. Alexis Brown delivered a two-out, two-RBI double to center to plate Gahan from third and Filger from second.
 
Pieper did not wait around in the third inning as she led off the frame with a home run down the left field line. Pieper's seventh career homer staked the Bearcats to a 4-0 lead over the Miners.
 
Northwest made it 5-0 in the fourth with yet another two-out rally. Filger drew a two-out walk and would score from first because of an error by the Miner defense. Alexis Brown singled with two outs and the Missouri S&T third baseman Tori Thompson was errant with a throw allowing Filger to fly around the bases.
 
Bearcat head coach Naomi Tellez turned to Moore for her first career pitching start for Northwest. Moore tossed three hitless frames before the Miners managed a leadoff single in the fourth. Moore worked out of a bases loaded one-out jam in the fourth by allowing a single run and leaving the Bearcats on top, 5-1.
 
Moore worked six innings to gain her first win. She allowed two hits, both in the fourth inning, and struck out four batters.
 
Northwest put a cap on the scoring with two additional runs in the seventh. Omara Love tripled to score Alexis Brown. Love would score on the same play as the S&T first baseman threw the ball away to give Northwest a 7-1 lead.
 
Brown collected a team-best three hits in four at-bats.
 

NORTHWEST 3, HENDERSON STATE 1
The Bearcat pitching duo of Erika Gore and Cassidy Paulson limited the Henderson State bats to five hits and one as Northwest scored three unearned runs in a 3-1 triumph over the Reddies.
 
Northwest dented the scoreboard with a first-inning unearned run. Lillie Filger reached on an error as the leadoff batter. With two outs, Skylar Pieper delivered an RBI-double to left field to give Northwest a 1-0 advantage.
 
Northwest took advantage of another Henderson State error in the third to score two runs. Alexis Brown reached on an error and then scored an on RBI-triple from Omara Love. Pieper came through with a sac fly to plate Love to up the Northwest lead to 3-0.

Henderson State hit a solo home run in the fifth to account for its only offense of the game.

Gore pitched the first three innings and gave up two hits and no runs. Paulson took care of the final four innings of work in the circle. Paulson allowed three hits and one run with one strikeout.