TOPEKA, Kan. – The Northwest Missouri State softball team rose back above .500 on the season with two victories at the Washburn Invitational Sunday.
 
Northwest opened the day with a 4-2 victory over Wayne State and then the Bearcats took down Minot State, 7-2.
 
Northwest moves its season mark to 6-5 overall.
 
 
NORTHWEST 4, WAYNE STATE 2
The Bearcats used a strong start from pitcher Olivia Moyer and a four-run explosion in the third inning to capture a 4-2 win over Wayne State at Silver Lake High School.
 
Moyer took a no-hitter in the fifth inning and settled for a sparkling two-hit performance to gain her first win of the season. Moyer is 1-3 on the year. Moyer allowed two runs and struck out four.
 
Rien Moore worked the seventh for her first save of the season. Moore allowed a hit and struck out a batter to finish off the Wildcats.
 
Curstin Todd launched a solo homer to left to lead off the third inning to give the Bearcats a 1-0 advantage. Omara Love ripped an RBI-double to left center to plate Alexis Brown, who had reached via a walk. Love moved up to third and Skylar Pieper drew a walk and stole second to set up runners at second and third for Gaige Pinkerton. Pinkerton came through with a two-out, two-run double to left center that plated Love and Pieper. The Pinkerton RBIs staked Northwest to a 4-0 lead.
 
Wayne State broke up Moyer's no-hit bit with a one-out single and then a two-run homer in the fifth to account for the Wildcat scoring. Following the homer, Moyer and Moore combined to retire eight of the next nine Wayne State hitters.
 
NORTHWEST 7, MINOT STATE 2
The Bearcats blitzed the Beavers with a pair of three-run innings to tally a 6-1 advantage through the first two innings en route to a 7-2 triumph.
 
Omara Love got the offense going with a two-run double down the left field line to score Lillie Filger and Alexis Brown. Gaige Pinkerton followed with an RBI-single to right to score Love and give Northwest a 3-0 lead in the first.
 
A solo homer to left by Anna LaCount got the Beavers on the board in the bottom half of the first.
 
But the Bearcat offense was relentless and poured on three more runs in the second. Filger got Mackenzie Mlnarik home on an infield ground out for the fourth run. Love reached on an error that allowed Brown to score her second run of the game. Skylar Pieper delivered a run-scoring single to plate Brown for the 6-1 lead.
 
Minot State gained a run in the fourth when the Bearcats could not turn a double play with the bases loaded and had to settle for a force out at second.
 
Curstin Todd put a cap on the Northwest offense with a double down the left field line to score Grace Lubben in the seventh for the 7-2 advantage.
 
Kylee Rockhold notched her first win of the season by tossing four innings and striking out six. Rockhold allowed two runs on five hits as she moved to 1-0. Erika Gore secured a save by throwing three innings of relief and allowing only one hit. Gore struck out four Beaver batters.
 
Northwest will play two games on Monday at the Washburn Invitational at Washburn Rural High School. Northwest will take on Maryville University at 5:30 p.m., followed by a matchup with Northern State University at 7:30 p.m.
NOTES: Skylar Pieper has reached base in all 11 games this season … Gaige Pinkerton extended her hitting streak to five games in a row … Alexis Brown leads the Bearcats in hitting (.500 – 20 hits in 40 at-bats) … Skylar Pieper and Omara Love are tied for the team lead with nine RBI … Northwest is hitting .315 as a team this season.