ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri Baptist Softball took down (RV) St. Francis 2-1 in game one of their home-opening doubleheader but fell 11-2 in six innings in game two. Solo home runs from seniors Jordan Corby and Caitlin McNiff sparked the Spartans' comeback victory in game one.
 

Game 1 – (RV) St. Francis (Ill.) 1, Missouri Baptist 2
The Fighting Saints took the upper hand early in game one against the home team on a Kayla Garcia single that plated leadoff hitter Lindsey Andrews.
 
Both teams were held quiet after that until Jordan Corby took a 2-2 offering deep over the centerfield fence. Corby's first home run of 2020 (sixth career) knotted things back at one run per side.
 
The game one starters were locked in early on. Bridget McDermott and Delissa Dennison had quite the dual going before Ally Dunaway took over for Dennison in the top of the sixth. Dunaway quickly retired the Saints in 1-2-3, order collecting two strikeouts.
 
In the bottom half of the sixth, Caitlin McNiff broke the tie game with an opposite-field solo shot to put the Spartans up by a run. MBU applied more pressure when a two-out single from Allison Pingel and a misplayed grounder put two on base. McDermott was up to the task and retired the next batter to move things to the seventh.
 
St. Francis got the leadoff runner on base in the top of the seventh on a dropped pop up. Luckily for MBU, Dunaway was up for the task as she retired the next three batters to earn her first win of 2020.
 

Game 2 – (RV) St. Francis (Ill.) 11, Missouri Baptist 2
The women got off to a rough start in game two of the doubleheader. Four runs came across to score in the top of the first on three hits and a costly error.
 
The Spartans showed fight by plating a run in the bottom half of the inning on Pingel's RBI single to center field that drove home Madalyn Bone. Kaitlyn Chadwick led off the second inning with a double and later scored thanks to a pair of deep flyouts from Cami Meddows and Rachel Galbraith.
 
St. Francis went on to score four in the third, one in the fourth, and two in the sixth to bury Missouri Baptist 11-2 in a six-inning short game.
 
Pingel, Galbraith, McNiff, and Chadwick collected the only four hits for the Spartans in game two.
 

Next Game:
Home vs. Evangel University (DH) – February 29, 12 & 2 p.m.