Joplin, Mo. - Missouri Southern wrapped up their second series of back-to-back conference doubleheaders against the Lopers of Nebraska Kearney on Saturday, March 30. It only took 10 innings for the Lions to complete two shutout run-rule victories for the sweep over the Lopers. The Lions advance to 29-10 (9-3 MIAA) on the season.
Missouri Southern vs. Nebraska Kearney - Game One
W, 14-0 /5 inn.
Katie Gray put the Lions on the board with a two-RBI double to right-center field.
Abby DeSanto followed Gray with an RBI single to drive Gray in and give the Lions a 3-0 lead after one inning. The Lions had one of their best innings of the season in the second, rallying for six straight hits and scoring seven runs off a three-RBI triple from
Yazmin Vargas, a
Taylor Nuckolls RBI single, a sacrifice fly RBI from
Katie Gray and a two-run homerun for
Abby DeSanto to cap the inning off with a 10-0 lead.
Kiki Pickens continued to shut down the defense as the Lions added four more runs in the fourth off a bases loaded walk and hit by pitch, followed by a two-RBI double from
Adrianna Young to increase the Lions lead to 14-0. The defense once again shut down the Lopers in the top of the fifth to complete the run-rule victory in game one.
Kiki Pickens (9-5) picked up the win for the Lions and pitched a complete 5.0 innings and gave up one hit and zero runs while striking out six of the 18 batters she faced for the complete shutout.
Missouri Southern vs. Nebraska Kearney - Game Two
W, 8-0 /5 inn.
The Lions took the energy from game one into the second as
Yazmin Vargas scored the first run of the game from a
Taylor Nuckolls groundout, to which
Kara Amos followed with a solo homerun to left-center field to give the Lions a 2-0 lead after the first. The Lions got back to work in the third and scored two more runs off a
Yazmin Vargas RBI single and another sacrifice fly RBI from
Katie Gray that drove in Vargas to increase the Lions lead to 4-0. The Lions defense and pitching remained flawless as the Lions entered the bottom of the fifth with the 4-0 lead.
Katie Gray got things started in the bottom half of the fifth with a two-RBI double down the left field line to give the Lions a 6-0 lead.
Abby DeSanto followed Gray with a RBI double to drive in Gray and bring
Kate Thurman to the plate with a chance to complete the run-rule walkoff. Thurman laid down a perfect bunt towards third base which scored
Abby DeSanto to complete another run-rule shutout victory as the Lions won game two 8-0.
Kara Amos (7-2) picked up the win for the Lions and pitched 3.0 innings and gave up one hit and zero runs while striking out four of the 13 batters she faced for the combined shutout with reliever
Avery Tallman.
Up Next
The Missouri Southern Softball team will begin a near month long road trip, beginning with conference rival Pittsburg State on Saturday, April 6 for a doubleheader at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM at Gene Bicknell Sports Complex.
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