ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood softball (17-19, 8-9 OVC) split their Saturday double header against Western Illinois (10-27, 6-11 OVC) by final scores of 8-6 and 3-8. The Lions will look to secure a series win on Sunday during the rubber match with first pitch slated for 12:00 p.m. CT.

GAME ONE
Lindenwood - 8
Western Illinois - 6

Lindenwood capitalized on a big fourth inning and fended off a late rally to defeat Western Illinois 8-6 in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader at the Lou Brock Sports Complex.

The Lions jumped out early with a run in the first inning, but it was a five-run fourth inning that proved decisive. Nicole Henson led the charge for Lindenwood, going 3-4 with two RBI and a stolen base, while Tori Hatton added a solo home run (3) and a double. Jolie McMinn also added two RBI sac fly for the Lions.

Western Illinois trailed 8-1 entering the seventh but mounted a late comeback. The Leathernecks scored five runs in the final frame, highlighted by hits from Sophia Sanchez and Maria Luna. However, Lindenwood's Avery Wapp picked up the save recording the final out of the inning. Ryleigh Owens picked up the win after throwing 6.1 innings.

GAME TWO
Lindenwood - 3
Western Illinois - 8

Western Illinois took advantage early in game two as they took game two of the three game series by a final score of 8-3. Wapp (L, 6-6) earned the loss on the mound for the Lions after throwing 3.0 innings allowing four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. Samantha Roulanaitis threw the final 4.0 innings allowing four runs on five hits.

Four different Lions had multiple hits in the loss including Henson who went 2-3 with an RBI. Dallis Darnell in the nine-hole also went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Wapp allowed a single run in the second and three runs in the third as the Leathernecks went up 4-0 early. Roulanaitis took over for Wapp in the fourth and allowed two more runs in the fifth inning. LU scored their first run in the bottom half of the fifth with an RBI groundout by Hatton.

Lindenwood put a little pressure on the Leathernecks in the sixth scoring two runs after RBI from Darnell and Henson. Western Illinois shut the door on the Lions in the seventh scoring another two runs as WIU evened the series at 1-1.

Tune into ESPN+ tomorrow as the Lions battle Western Illinois for the series finale. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.