DECATUR, Ga. – Mississippi University for Women softball had mixed results on Sunday, splitting its doubleheader at Agnes Scott College. The Owls (13-15) won the opener, 5-2, but lost game two, 11-7, versus the Scotties.
 
Game one was a pitcher's duel between The W's Rylie Grisham and ASC hurler Regan Hutto. The duo kept the other side scoreless for the first five innings, until both surrendered a pair of runs in the sixth.
 
The W had Kaylee Quimby lead off with a single through the left side and move to third on a Riley Phillips double. Jessica Deming then roped a single to right that brought home both Quimby and Phillips.
 
The Scotties pawed back in their half of the sixth, aided by an obstruction call at the home that allowed their first run to score. An RBI single by ASC knotted the game at 2-2.
 
In the top of the seventh, MUW's Makalyn Cowley cracked a double to center to open the at-bats. Pinch runner Katelyn Hicks was sacrificed to third and sped home on Jasmine Shaw's single through the left side. A single by Quimby gave The W first and second runners and brought in a relief pitcher for ASC.
 
A walk to Phillips loaded the bases for Deming. The Owls' senior shortstop smacked a double to left, plating Shaw and Quimby to give the visiting MUW squad the 5-2 lead.
 
Kaitlyn Parrish came on to pitch the seventh, retiring the Scotties in order to earn her first save of the season. Grisham was the winner, improving to 4-5 on the year. Grisham went 6.0 innings, allowing six hits and the two earned runs. She struck out four and walked just one.
 
Deming had the hot bat in game one with a 3-for-4 game. Deming had four runs batted in.  Shaw was 3-for-3 with a run and a RBI.
 
The W made a game of the second contest, despite looking as though it would be dispatched early.
 
MUW had jumped ahead 2-0 in the top of the first, thanks to RBI singles from Grisham and Ashton Farnell. But in the bottom of the first things got bad and elevated to worse in the same inning. Owls starter Amelia Stalter could not get out of the first inning, putting down just two Scotties before Parrish was summoned to restore order.
 
Parrish appeared to get the final out and limit the damage. However, between innings ASC challenged an MUW defensive substitution the previous half-inning, setting off a 15-minute delay in the action while the umpires tried to sort things out. When the dust settled, the Owls were sent back out on defense and the previous "third out" was voided. The same batter that had made the phantom third out, this time connected on a three-run home run on her second chance, putting MUW in a 7-2 hole.
 
A single run in the bottom of the third gave host Agnes Scott an 8-2 cushion.
 
But the Owls would not roll over, tallying five unanswered runs over the next three innings, climbing to within a single run, 8-7. Grisham's bat did the bulk of the work with a solo homer in the fifth and a two-run double in the sixth.
 
However, the Owls would get no closer as the Scotties added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to extend their advantage to 11-7.
 
Stalter took the loss for The W. She fell to 4-4 on the year.
 
Grisham was 3-for-4, with two doubles and the home run. She drove in four runs and scored once.
 
Jaelyn Palmer was also 3-for-4, with a run scored. Maddy Suggs and Katie Beth Williams each had 2-for-4 games and each drove in a run, as well. Phillips was 2-for-5 in the leadoff spot for The W.