Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern softball program won three games this weekend sweeping No. 20 Washburn, 3-1 and 3-1 on Friday and split against Emporia State winning game two 10-2 in a six inning run rule victory on Saturday Apr. 15th from the Pat Lipira Softball Complex.

The Lions (31-8, 16-2 MIAA) were led by Ashlynn Williams in game one going 2-for-2 with two RBis and drew a walk, Abby DeSanto also had an RBI and Bailey Lacy won her 10th game of the season with a complete game seven strikeout performance. 

Washburn (31-11,10-8 MIAA) scored first with an RBI double in the second inning to take the lead early. Southern would roar into action in the fifth inning with a DeSanto bases loaded walk-in scoring Josie Tofpi followed by a Williams single down the right field line to score Marybeth Dyson and Peyton Hawkins to give the Lions a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish. 

In game two Williams went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, one walk drawn and an RBI to lead the team. Emily Perry and Kara Amos each had an RBI, Avery Tallman won her 14th game of the season with a complete game performance striking out three Ichabods.

With the sweep over Washburn it marks the fifth win this season over a ranked team and the second straight sweep over ranked opposition.

Against Emporia State (29-17, 9-9 MIAA) the Hornets claimed the first game in the double header 6-5 in a game that had a rain delay during the sixth inning. 

Kaite Gray went 3-for-3 with a run scored and RBI, Leighton Withers led the team with two RBIs with Emily Perry and Tofpi collecting two hits and an RBI. Bailey Lacy struck out two and Avery Tallman recorded 4.1 innings of relief.

The Hornets scored five in the third inning to take the lead before the Lions scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning from back-to-back Tofpi and Withers RBI doubles to left field. In the sixth inning Emporia State scored one run in the top half of the inning as Southern responded with a bases loaded hit-by-pitch by Withers to score Carsen Tinkler and make it a 6-3 game. Southern would make a rally attempt in the seventh with a Gray home run and Perry double to left field scoring Dyson but couldn't score the tying or game winning run before the third out was recorded.

In game two the Lions came back with a vengeance claiming a 10-2 run rule win in six innings as Tofpi and Withers led the offense with three RBIs each and Natalie Bates won her sixth game of the season with five strikeouts in six innings. 

Southern took an early 2-1 lead following a triple the blew across the right field line for Withers scoring Perry and Vargas in the first inning. Perry singled up the middle to score Adrianna Young from third to give the Lions a 3-1 lead after two innings. 

Emporia State responded in the fourth inning with a run before the Lions added three runs in the bottom half of the inning for a 6-2 lead. Southern would enact the run rule in the sixth inning following a Tofpi single up the middle scoring Vargas and Sidnie Hurst, Williams single up the middle scoring Tofpi and a fielding error at first allowing Dyson to score ending the game.

Up next for the Lions will be the last home weekend of the regular season hosting Northwest Missouri on Friday Apr. 21st at 4:00 and 6:00pm before hosting Missouri Western on Saturday Apr. 22nd at 1:00 and 3:00pm with every game slated to being played at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex. 

Career Update
Josie Tofpi - Passed Erin (Turner) Doll (1999-02) for the program record in career runs scored with 142 following the second game against Emporia State. Read Full Article