RUSTON, La.  – Missouri State softball now sits at 3-8 on the season after splitting a Saturday doubleheader at Louisiana Tech (8-2). Missouri State held on late in game one of the doubleheader to secure a 7-5 victory over the Bulldogs. In game two of the afternoon, the Bears fell 3-2 in an 11-inning pitcher's duel.
 
Game 1 – Missouri State 7, Louisiana Tech 5
Missouri State bounced back from its series-opening loss against Louisiana Tech with a 7-5 win in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. 

It was a pitcher's duel for the first three innings of the game, as each team had a single runner advance to third base with two outs, but both squads were unable to push a run across. 
 
After three scoreless innings, the Bears broke through for three runs in the fourth. Olivia Krehbiel sparked the MSU offense with a leadoff double to right center field, which Ellie McCoy followed up with a bunt single and a stolen base. Krehbiel scored the first run after the Bulldog defense committed an error trying to get the out at home, then a batter later, McCoy scored on a passed ball to give MSU a 2-0 lead. 
 
The inning continued as an Emily Shipman sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Taylor Akers to third with one out. Chloe Merced came to the plate and delivered a sacrifice fly to put Missouri State up 3-0. 
 
Louisiana Tech got one run back in the bottom of the fourth after three singles in the inning to cut the MSU lead to 3-1 after four. 
 
Both teams got two runners on the base paths in the fifth but came up empty. Missouri State then added a run in the sixth on a Kelsie Lewis two-out double to left center field, scoring pinch runner Emily Chadwick to extend the lead to 4-1 with six innings in the books. 
 
The seventh inning saw fireworks in Ruston as the Bears posted another three-spot in the top of the seventh. Mackenzie Chacon led the inning off with a single, before a Krehbiel walk and McCoy single loaded the bases for MSU with one out. Annie Mueller then worked a bases-loaded walk to collect an RBI. Shipman then strolled to the plate and once again did her job, sending a sacrifice fly to left field to score another MSU run. With runners on second and third with two outs, Merced delivered a single through the left side to extend Missouri State's lead to six runs, 7-1, going into the bottom of the seventh. 
 
Those three runs in the seventh would prove to be crucial for MSU as the Bulldogs scored four runs on six hits in the home half of the final inning. Four singles and a double gave Louisiana Tech four runs with a runner on second and two outs. Following a single to put runners on the corners, Gracie Johnston got the strikeout to end the game and secure the win 7-5 win for Missouri State. 
 
Chacon improved to 3-0 in the circle on the season after hurling 6.1 innings and striking out three Bulldogs on the afternoon. Johnston came on in relief in the seventh inning, allowing two hits and striking out one in 0.2 innings of work, as she collected her third save of the season. McCoy and Chacon both collected two hits, while Merced tallied two RBI in game one of the doubleheader. 
 
Game 2 – Louisiana Tech 3, Missouri State 2 (11 Innings)
Much like Friday night's game and the early part of game one of today's doubleheader, the Bears and Bulldogs found themselves locked in a pitcher's duel. 
 
After a quiet first two innings on both sides, Missouri State got on the board first in the top of the third inning. With two outs, Krehbiel knocked a double down the left field line, scoring the speedy Abby Ford all the way from first base to give the Bears an early 1-0 lead. 
 
In the bottom of the third, Louisiana Tech had runners on the corner with one out but a hard-hit liner at Krehbiel at third base turned into a double play for the Bears. MSU carried that momentum into the fourth as Merced launched her second home run of the year over the fence in left field to give the Bears a 2-0 advantage. 
 
The Bulldogs answered in the fourth following two walks and an RBI single to cut the MSU lead in half. 
 
Missouri State held Louisiana Tech to just one hit across the fifth and sixth innings and headed to the bottom of the seventh needing three outs for the doubleheader sweep. Unfortunately for the Bears, the Bulldogs sent the game to extra innings after using a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch and a single to push the tying run across.  
 
While the MSU offense looked for a rhythm, the Bears defense stranded a Bulldog on third base in the eighth and left the bases full of Bulldogs in the ninth. 
 
Missouri State had its best shot at taking the lead in the top of the 11^th inning as three straight fielder's choices put Bears on the corners with two outs, but a fly out ended the MSU threat. Louisiana Tech then needed just six pitches in the home half of the 11th to capture the walk-off win, 3-2. 
 
Merced collected a multiple-hit game for MSU, going 2-for-4 with her third RBI across the doubleheader. Kayla Ulrich also recorded two hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk. 
 
The Bears and Bulldogs close out the four-game series tomorrow (Feb. 25) with first pitch set for 11 a.m. in Ruston.