COLUMBUS, Miss. -  After finding itself mired in slump that has seen it stuck in the No. 10 position in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) rankings, Mississippi University for Women softball provided a huge jumpstart to its playoff hopes by sweeping a doubleheader versus a quality Lane College team. The Owls (18-18) swept the NCAA Division II Dragons (33-12) by scores of 5-4 and 2-0 at Don Usher Field.
 
In game one, the Owls had to come-from-behind and win in walk-off fashion. Pitcher Avery Byerley was solid for MUW in the circle, keeping her team close and allowing for the late-inning heroics by her offense. Byerley (2-3) went the entire 7.0 innings, permitting the four earned runs. She struck out three and walked just one.
 
That was good enough to give The W the opportunity for the win. After Lane plated three in the fourth to break open a 0-0 deadlock, Riley Phillips (2-3) got the Owls on the board in the fifth with an RBI single that drove home Jessica Deming (1-3) to make it 3-1. Phillips then got in a rundown between first and second, which allowed Emilee Slade (1-3) to also come home, 3-2.
 
When the Dragons added a tally in the top of the seventh for some insurance, 4-2, the Owls had their backs against the wall. But the resilient MUW squad responded with a two-out, three run rally.
 
With two down and a runner on second, Anna Sandlin (2-4) singled to make it 4-3. Jaelynn Palmer then drew a walk to move Sandlin into scoring position.  Head Coach Buddy Foster then sent up pinch-hitter Maiya Joe, who responded with an RBI single to right that scored Sandlin to tie the game, and advance pinch runner Kaitlyn Bearley to third.
 
Foster then rolled the dice again with a pinch-hitter. This time it was Makalyn Cowley tasked with taking care of her team's last out. Cowley rewarded Foster's decision by slamming the ball through the left side of the Dragons' infield, as Bearley trotted home with the game-winning run.
 
As much as game on was about timely hitting, the second game was all about a dominating pitching effort from Rylie Grisham. Grisham scattered four hits in improving to 9-6 on the year from the circle. She struck out five Dragons and walked two, in earning her third shutout and team-leading seventh complete game.
 
What was a scoreless pitcher's duel through four innings, swung in the Owls' favor in the fifth.  Palmer (1-2) lifted a single down the left-field line that drove in Maddy Suggs (1-3). Crosby (2-4) followed with an RBI double that knocked in Palmer, to make it the 2-0 final score
 
It was a great way to cap the final home date on Senior Day, as MUW said "thank you" to its quartet of seniors: Macy Nordquist, Crosby, Palmer, and Suggs.
 
The W will close out the regular season this Friday and Saturday with a three-game series at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Ark.