ST. LOUIS – Beginning its American Midwest Conference schedule on Tuesday, the Missouri Baptist softball team swept Harris-Stowe State University in a pair of shortened games. Behind a combined 22 hits and 12 different players scoring a run, the Spartans defeated the Hornets, 12-0, followed by a 12-2 victory in the series finale.
 
With the away games being moved to Spartan Softball Field, MBU actually served as the visiting team in both games of the doubleheader. It didn't matter whether the Spartans were home or away on their own field, the team made quick work of the Hornets defensively and at the plate.
 
There was a myriad of highlights in the Spartans' AMC opener, but none bigger than Delissa Dennison, who was one play shy of recording a perfect game. The junior from Staunton, Ill., threw a perfect game in an exhibition contest this past fall, and went 4.1 innings on Tuesday before allowing the one and only hit that had gotten in the way of a perfect slate.
 
Facing 16 Harris-Stowe batters in the game, Dennison was credited with the 5-inning complete game and struck out a whopping 11 Hornets. It marks the second game this season that Dennison has fanned 10+ batters. She improved her pitching record to 4-3 with Tuesday's victory.
 
Offensively, the Spartans scored in each of the first four innings. By the end of the third, MBU had a commanding 6-0 lead and it was trending very much in favor of the Spartans. The nail in the coffin for Harris-Stowe was the top of the 4^th when Missouri Baptist tacked on six runs via four hits and two errors.
 
A quartet of Spartans registered 2+ hits against the Hornets in Game One including Jordan Corby (2-for-2, 2 R, 1 RBI), Meagan Elder (2-for-3, 1 R), Ally Gischer (3-for-3, 3 R, 2 RBI), and Amber Mobbs (2-for-2, 3 R).
 
The hitting momentum carried over into Game Two as the Spartans scored at least one run in all six innings. They went up by as much as 6 before Harris-Stowe finally got on the scoreboard. The Hornets' one run in the fourth finning was just enough to postpone the mercy rule (8-run lead after 5 innings) one frame.
 
This time around, Missouri Baptist had three players record multi-hit games. At the No. 2 spot in the lineup, freshman MaKenzie Harbugh went 2-of-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. No. 3 hitter Reilly Kassay had a game-high three hits in four at-bats. And first baseman Caitlin McNiff had two hits and an RBI.
 
Other notable highpoints from the second game included a home run for catcher Miranda Brown, freshman pitcher Addison Rinderer's first win at the collegiate level, as well as 10 stolen bases as a team. Reily Kassay had a field day on the basepaths, accounting for half (5) of the Spartans' stolen bases.
 
Up next for Missouri Baptist are two of the AMC's hottest teams right now in Central Baptist College (15-10, 8-0 AMC), who sports an undefeated record in league play, and No. 15-ranked Lyon College (21-6, 8-2 AMC). Friday's doubleheader vs. Central Baptist is set for a 2 p.m. start, while Saturday's games against Lyon are scheduled for 12 and 2 p.m.