Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern softball team carried its momentum from day one over into day two where the Lions outscored the Sioux Falls Cougars (2-0) and Drury Panthers (6-1) 8-1 for two wins and another sweep to conclude the Teri Mathis-Zenner Memorial Tournament inside the Gene Bassman Softball Complex Sunday afternoon.
 
The Lions (8-11) only allowed one run over the weekend in the fifth inning in the second game against Drury after going 27 2/3 innings without giving up a run. They ended the tournament with four wins and three shutouts, outscoring their opponents 12-1 overall.
 
Game 1
Four innings went by without a single run as the Lions pitching staff continued its dominance in preventing USF (3-6) to score. MSSU's offense got going when first baseman Erika Lutgen crushed a solo-shot over the fence in leftfield for a 1-0 lead heading into the fifth.
 
Second baseman Lexi Ferrari added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with a RBI-single up the middle to plate Abi Corbett for the team's third-straight shutout victory (2-0).
 
Freshman pitcher Abby Atkin held the Cougars to five hits in six innings pitched before Taurean Guzman recorded the save, while not allowing a single baserunner in the final stretch.
 
Game 2
Guzman started game two against the Panthers (3-7) and did not miss a beat through registering four innings with five strikeouts and only three hits allowed. Atkin came back in relief, throwing three innings and letting one run score.
 
Out of the gate, the Lions offense immediately put the pressure on the fielders by performing a double-steal play with not a single Panther covering third base to provide Corbett to go all the way home for the first run. Lutgen then smacked a double to right field to score Ferrari for an early 2-0 advantage.
 
After tacking on a third run in the fourth, DU finally got on the board and broke the Lions shutout streak off a single with two outs (3-1) in the top of the fifth. Designated hitter Emily Harris responded with a three-run bomb to right center to give the Lions a comfortable 6-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Lutgen and Emilee Meyer combined for a 6-for-6 line at the plate with three doubles in the final win on the weekend.

Next Up
The Lions will have five days to prepare for their home opener and first conference battle of the season in a pair of games against Washburn University on Friday, March 9 at 2:00 pm inside the Pat Lipira Softball Complex.