CONWAY, ARK. - Missouri Baptist kicked off their AMC Tournament as the No. 1 seed taking on No. 8 Stephens, and the Spartans came prepared. MBU took a lead in the second inning and never looked back on their way to a 9-1 victory as Taylor Whitehead kept the Stars' offense at bay.

Whitehead, the AMC Pitcher of the Year, retired the side in order in the first two innings of the contest, and Allison Leigraf blasted a solo home run to put the squad up by one heading into the third inning.

Stephens hit a lead off single for their first base runner of the game, but a 5-4-3 double play from Leigraf to Ladson to Kessler cleared the paths.

Jacie Dees got the offense rolling in the bottom half of the third with another solo shot for the Spartans, making it 2-0. Brooklynn Fischer and Leigraf both walked, and a two-out error brought Fischer around to score before Makayla Johnson hit a double that plated Leigraf.

Up by four, Whitehead continued to shut down the Stars lineup on her way to her 15th complete game of the season.

Missouri Baptist scored one more in both the fourth and fifth innings on RBI hits from Dees and Johnson. Stephens scored their lone run of the game in the sixth, but the Spartans answered with three runs on three hits to end the game 9-1.

The Spartans played solid defense behind Whitehead, accounting for 14 of the 18 outs with no errors and one double play.

Winning Pitcher: Taylor Whitehead (17-2)

Losing Pitcher: E. Kendrick (5-12)

Batting Leaders

Jacie Dees: 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

Allison Leigraf: 1-for-2, HR, 2 R, RBI

Makayla Johnson: 2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI

Records

Missouri Baptist: 41-6 (20-2 AMC)

Stephens: 15-26 (9-13 AMC)

Next Game

Missouri Baptist will be back in action tomorrow when they take on the winner of Williams Baptist and Central Baptist at noon.