EUREKA, Ill. – By splitting its Saturday doubleheader, the Mississippi University for Women softball team was able to guarantee itself of a spot in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) post-season tournament. The Owls (20-16, 6-8 SLIAC) won their first game versus Eureka College, 11-9, but dropped the second, 1-0.
MUW also secured a 20-win season for the second time in as many seasons and fourth time in the modern era of athletics at The W (since 2017).
Kaitlyn Bearley – 2-for-4, two runs and a walk - got the Owls going early. Her RBI single in the first and a bases-loaded single in the second to plate two more, gave MUW a 3-0 lead.
After the Red Devils briefly took a 4-3 lead, The W clawed back. In the third,
Maiya Joe (2-4) ripped an RBI single to level the game at 4-4.
Ironically - at the college that is the Alma Mater of former President Ronald Reagan - it was MUW's
Reagan Newell (2-5) that provided the game-winning RBI thanks to her two-run double in the fourth. The Owls would add another run on a throwing error to lead, 7-4, when the frame ended.
Newell's RBI double in the sixth began a four-run surge in that inning.
Abby Schlude's (1-2) two-run single and
Ashton Farnell's (0-3) sacrifice fly upped the Owls cushion to 11-5.
Alysa Newman also went 2-for-4, scoring twice, for The W.
MUW starter
Rylie Grisham was chased after 1.1 innings and did not figure in the decision. Freshman
Baylee McWilliams went the final 5.2 innings to even her personal record at 4-4, striking out three and walking one.
In game two, The W was shutout for just the third time this season, and the first since March 15.
No Owls player had more than one hit. Newell (1-3) had the team's lone extra-base hit with a double.
In the circle,
Avery Byerley (3-6) absorbed the loss, despite throwing a complete game and allowing just an unearned run. Byerley struck out three Red Devils and walked two.
The W will conclude the regular season on Sunday (April 28), with a twinbill at Blackburn College at 11 a.m. in Carlinville, Illinois.