The Lindenwood softball team finished 1-3 at the Belhaven Elite Tournament in Mississippi this weekend. The Lady Lions lost both games on the first day, but went 1-1 on the second day and showed that they can play with any team.

Friday's games were held on the campus of William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss. The Lady Lions were defeated by both Spring Hill and William Carey. 

Lindenwood fell to Spring Hill by a 4-1 score in its first tournament game. 

The Lady Lions would not get on the scoreboard until the sixth inning, when they strung together back-to-back doubles by Jessica Long and Paige Park. Long crossing the plate would be the only run Lindenwood would manufacture, as it tallied only four hits. 

In the second game of the day, William Carey protected its home field, beating the Lady Lions 4-0. 

The opposing pitching stymied Lindenwood, who could not manage a hit. The lone base runner was Sophia Galati, registering a walk to break up the perfect game. 

The pitching for the Lady Lions showed some good signs as Heidi Schertzer and Megan Noe combined to surrender only four hits in the game, and they gave up only one hit in the final four innings. 

On Saturday, Lindenwood came out swinging the bats well, putting up five or more runs in both games. The Lady Lions defeated William Penn 7-6 in extra innings, and were edged out by Belhaven in the final at-bat, losing 6-5. Both games took place at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland, Miss. 

Against William Penn, Lindenwood started in a 2-0 hole, but put together a three-run rally in the third inning, highlighted by an RBI triple from Long. 

In the fifth, the Lady Lions would give up four runs, but would respond an inning later with another three runs to tie the game 6-6. The offensive boost was provided by home runs from both Long and Sophie Berman. 

The game would go into extra-innings, where Lindenwood prevented William Penn from scoring in the top half, thanks to a diving stop by Miranda Schlosser at third base. With Anne Park placed on second base to start the bottom half of the eighth inning, Emily Johnson came up as a pinch-hitter and delivered the game-winning hit. 

Lindenwood pulled out the 7-6 victory. Aubrey Moss received the win in relief, and Long led the Lady Lions offensively with three RBIs, a triple, and a home run. 

In the second game, Lindenwood was narrowly defeated by Belhaven 6-5.

The Lady Lions jumped on their opponents early, getting two runs in the top half of the first inning on a home run by Bailee Winkler. But Belhaven would take those two runs right back in the bottom half. 

The Blazers would take a two-run lead heading into the sixth inning. But in that inning Lindenwood scored three runs, including home runs from Sophia Galati and Johnson. 

Lindenwood took a one-run advantage into the bottom of the seventh, but it was not enough as Belhaven drove in two runs with two outs to steal the game by a score of 6-5.

The Lady Lions will return to action in their home-opener on February 26th against Olivet Nazarene.