The Lady Lions led late in both games in Kearney, Neb. on Friday, but dropped each set of the twin bill to Nebraska-Kearney by the scores of 12-9 and 6-5, respectively.

Game One
After being stranded at second base when she hit a double with one out in the first inning, Maria Tippit knocked a single scoring Madeline Bohr and Faith Koffron to make the score 3-0 in the second. After being sent down 1-2-3 in the Lady Lions' half of the third, Bethany Fountain had a shut-down inning of her own inducing three straight groundballs to get Lindenwood back to the batter's box.

Fountain went from the circle to the box and drilled a single to left field to lead off the fourth. The Lady Lions used a sacrifice bunt from Koffron to put Fountain on second before Bohr hit another single to put runners on the corners with one out. However, Brooklyn Sisk struck out and Tippit popped up to end the threat. Nebraska-Kearney took advantage of the momentum and Erin Dwyer hit a two-run homer to cut the deficit to one run. After getting a flyout, Fountain surrendered four hits and a walk that led to a 7-3 Lopers' lead. Brooke Miller came in for relief, and after giving up a single, struck out Kayla Carter to end the inning. 

Lindenwood wouldn't back down after surrendering the lead. Alexis Theis walked to the lead off the fifth, and moved to second on a Rebecca Stocker groundout. Caitlyn Touchette reached on a fielder's choice, and then Madison Huot hit her team-leading sixth double to score Theis and Touchette to make the score 7-5. Fountain reached on a fielder's choice, and Koffron followed up with her second single of the game to load the bases with only one out. Sisk added another run for the Lady Lions when she dropped a ball into right center for a single, and Tippit recorded her third knock of the day on a 1-0 pitch she sent to right center to re-take the lead 8-7 heading into the bottom of the fifth.


Errors would doom the Lady Lions in fifth inning. After surrendering a couple hits and a couple hitters reaching on errors, Miller gave up a grand slam to Makenzi Dallas to give the Lopers a 12-8 lead. Kaitlyn VanHooser would relieve Miller, and after forcing a groundout to her first batter, the Lopers reached on a hit by pitch and a walk. VanHooser would induce another groundball to end the Kearney threat.

After being sent down in order in the sixth, the Lady Lions began a small rally with Koffron reaching for her third time of the day. Sisk doubled to send Koffron to third, and a Tippit RBI-groundout made the score 12-9 with two outs. Theis would fly out to end the rally and the game, as Lindenwood drops game one.

Game Two
After Sisk reached on an error to begin game two and moved to second on a Huot single, Koffron ripped a double down the right field line to score Sisk to get Lindenwood the early 1-0 lead.

After allowing a lead-off single in the bottom of the first, Morgan Colvis shut down nine in a row to get the Lady Lions back to hitting as soon as possible. In the top of the fourth, Theis doubled and Adele Linderman walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Stocker found some grass in the next at-bat with a single, scoring both Theis and Linderman to increase the lead to three.

After Colvis allowed a double and single to lead off the bottom of the fourth to put runners on the corners with nobody out, Colvis induced a groundball that advanced the runner to second and then struck out Nicole Larsen to need only one more out. Back-to-back walks by Paige Hamelin and Kami Merrill would force a run in to make the score 3-1. A dropped fly ball by Sisk scored two more Lopers to even the score at three apiece.

The Lady Lions would get the run back in the fifth when a Tippit single moved Sisk to second, and Koffron drilled another single to make the score 4-3. Touchette would follow it up with her first hit of the day to load the bases for Theis. With one out, Theis grounded to the shortstop who flipped it to the third baseman as Tippit crossed the plate.

Ruwe struck with her 12th homer of the year for UNK to cut the lead to 5-4 for Lindenwood. VanHooser came in relief and allowed a couple groundballs that led to fielder's choices. With runners on first and second with two outs, Merill hit an RBI-single to knot the score at five heading into the sixth.

In the top of the seventh and down one run, Touchette walked with two outs. Theis ripped an 0-1 pitch to left, but the ball was caught for the third and final out for the Lady Lions to drop game two 6-5.

With the doubleheader loss, Lindenwood drops to 6-20 and 3-8 within the MIAA. The Lady Lions get back to action tomorrow afternoon in Hays, Kan. for a doubleheader against Fort Hays State.