Joplin, Mo. - After battling back to cut the lead down to one in the opening game of the day the Missouri Southern Lions capitalized on the momentum in game two to salvage a split in the MIAA double header against University of Nebraska at Kearney Sunday afternoon at Lea Kungle Field.

Game One
UNK (8-16, 1-7 MIAA) struck first in the top half of the opening frame when Erin Dwyer doubled home Kate Ruwe with one out. Southern (12-15, 2-4 MIAA) evened things up in the home half after senior Alana Hester lead off with a triple down the left field line and then scored on a fielding error by the Lopers' shortstop. Nebraska-Kearney plated two more runs in the top of the second on a RBI single to the pitcher and a delayed double steal to take a 3-1 lead headed into the home half of the fourth. During the bottom of the fourth the Lions managed to cut the lead down to one as freshman Taurean Guzman shot a laser back up the middle to score junior Sydney Fry to make it 3-2. That was the closest Southern would get in game one as UNK added an insurance run in the top of the fifth for the 4-2 win.

Senior Ashley Lutz (7-7) got the start in the circle for game one and went four innings allowing three runs, one earned, on six hits with one walk and two strike outs. Guzman pitched three innings in relief allowing one run, earned, on four hits with one strike out. Hester led the Lions offense in game one going 3-for-4 at the plate with the triple and sophomore Abi Corbett finished 2-for-3 with a stolen base, her 20th of the season.

Game Two
In the final game of the day Southern struck for a run in the bottom of the first when freshman Angel Badalamenti doubled to deep right field to score Fry. The Green & Gold tacked two more on in the next inning when senior Sarah Williams scored on a throwing error by the Lopers' pitcher and junior Sarah Morrison scored on an infield single by Corbett. UNK would get two runs back in the top of the third on an error by Southern and a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2. Southern tacked on another run in the home half of the fourth on another RBI infield single by Corbett that scored Williams this time and for good measure the Lions added a run in the sixth off a double, that hit the third base bag, by Corbett that scored freshman Kylie Wesbrooks.

Lutz again got the start inside circle pitching the complete game while allowing just the two runs, one earned, on four hits with five strike outs. Corbett finished game two 3-for-4 at the plate with 3 RBIs and her fifth double of the season. Fry and Badalamenti both stroked their fourth doubles of the season as the Lions collected 11 hits off the UNK pitcher, Nicole Larsen.

On The Day
Corbett had an outstanding day at the dish hitting .714 (5-for-7) with three RBIs and a pair of doubles. Guzman finished 3-for-5 on the day with a RBI and Hester hit .429 (3-for-7) with a run scored and the lead off triple in game one. On the day the Lions tallied 18 hits, five for extra bases, with five RBIs. Lutz took both decisions in the circle for the Lions going 11 innings allowing five runs, two earned, on 10 hits with four walks and seven strike outs and an ERA of 1.27.

On The Weekend
Corbett finished the MIAA home opening weekend hitting .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles and three RBIs while Guzman finished 12-for-5 (.417) with a RBI. Lutz held her opponents to just a .179 average in her 23 innings of work this weekend and tallied an ERA of 0.61 while getting two wins.

Up Next
The Lions will travel to Southwest Baptist on Monday for a 1 p.m. tilt at the SBU Softball Field. The games were originally scheduled for March 8 but were rained out in Bolivar.