ST.CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Softball team (9-11, 1-1 OVC) split their first two games of conference play on Saturday afternoon against UT Martin. The Lions went 10 innings in game one and picked up a 6-5 win on a
Jolie McMinn RBI double to left field. Senior Pitcher
Avery Wapp added her fourth win of the season in the opening game as well, throwing 2.2 innings in relief and allowed zero hits while tying her season-high with six strikeouts in the victory over the Skyhawks.
Game 1: Lindenwood 6, UT Martin 5 (10)
UT Martin wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in game one as they put up two runs on four hits to grab an early 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
Emily Geary got the Lions on the scoreboard with a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the second inning before
Anna Sanders tied the score at two in the bottom of the third on a SAC fly to centerfield that scored
Teryn Brown. The Lions put up three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning behind a few defensive errors committed by UTM to grab a 5-2 lead after four innings of play, but the Skyhawks put up three runs of their own in the top of the fifth to even the score at five. The Lions headed to their first extra inning game of the 2026 season and the final run of the game was scored in the bottom of the 10th inning after
Kylee Crowder drew a one out walk and eventually scored on a
Jolie McMinn double to left field to give the Lions their first 1-0 OVC start in the Division I Era.
Avery Wapp picked up her fourth win of the season in the series opener with the Skyhawks, pitching 2.2 innings in a tie ball game and didn't allow a single hit and retired all but one batter that she saw and finished the game with a team-high six strikeouts.
Game 2: UT Martin 9, Lindenwood 6
The Skyhawks scored the first seven runs of the game in innings two, three, and four to grab a 7-0 lead after four innings of play. The Lions would not go down without a fight as they put up three runs in the fifth inning behind a SAC fly from
Tori Hatton,
Madisen Noll scoring on a fielder's choice, and
Jolie McMinn singling to centerfield to cut the UTM deficit to four after five innings of play. UT Martin added two more runs in the top of the sixth, but
Kylee Crowder hit a three run home run in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 9-6 game. After the Crowder home run, McMinn doubled again and
Dallis Darnell walked to bring the tying run to the plate in the last half of the seventh inning. The Lions could not bring home the tying run though as the Skyhakws took the second game by a final score of 9-6.
Lindenwood will wrap up their three game series with the Skyhawks tomorrow afternoon for the series finale with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. CT at Lou Brock Sports Complex.
