ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist softball recorded four hits in the American Midwest Conference Softball Tournament Quarterfinal game against Columbia (Mo.) on Tuesday. After an upset over No. 2-seed Park (Mo.) earlier in the day, MBU got all it could handle against Cougar starting pitcher Paxton Welch, who went the distance, to defeat the Spartans 4-0.

Missouri Baptist (27-15, 15-9 AMC) looked like it might have early success as Mikala Torrence singled to lead-off in the bottom of the first, but as Welch settled-in, the Spartan bats quieted. Three of the four hits for MBU came from the bat of Torrence, as the left fielder led the offense.

Columbia grabbed its first two runs of the day with two outs already on the board in the first and third. In both innings, the first two batters were retired before the Cougars began to get its offense in gear.

In the first, with two away, Allyson Metz doubled to right-center and put the lead run in scoring position. Two batters later, Jessica Hardy hit an RBI single to get Metz home and made it a 1-0 Cougar lead.

Columbia made it 2-0 in the third after consecutive fly outs at the top of the order. Metz and Taylor Atwood flied out before Hardy singled and put another potential run aboard. That run quickly went from potential to reality as two errors extended the inning and extended the Cougar lead.

Columbia added two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh and preserved their lead. With the win, the Cougars advanced to the AMC Semifinals to face No. 1-seed Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) on Thursday.

Missouri Baptist will now play for its tournament life on Thursday against No. 4-seed Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.). First pitch is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. in Columbia, Mo.