NATCHITOCHES, La. – Missouri State softball (10-6) picked up two wins on its first day of action at the City of Lights Classic hosted by Northwestern State. The Bears defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 12-0 in five innings to start the day, before beating NSU 6-1 in game two.
Aubrey Johansen led the way for the Bears offensively across the two games, totaling six RBI and two home runs.
Riley Baber and
Emily Chadwick drove in three runs on the day, while
Halle Studer and
Lauren Rowland scored three times each.
Game 1
Missouri State 12, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 (5 innings)
Missouri State opened its four-game stay at the City of Lights Classic hosted by Northwestern State with a run-rule victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
After a quiet first inning, the Bears opened things up in the second inning with a seven-run frame.
Brynn Romine led off the second with a single to the pitcher and
Elizabeth Bobbitt walked, before a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Back-to-back walks for
Emily Gerardy and Rowland pushed the first run of the day across for MoState before the bats got hot. Studer and Baber both sent RBI singles through the left side to push the advantage to 3-0. Then, Johansen delivered the big blow with a grand slam to deep center field to put the Bears in front by seven.
MoState continued to tack on runs, posting two more in the bottom of the third inning. Gerardy knocked a single to shallow center field with one out. Rowland immediately drove her home with an RBI triple to left center field, and then came across to score herself on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to make it a 9-0 lead for the Bears with three in the books.
The Bears weren't done as MoState added three more via the long ball in the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out on the board, pinch hitter
Sofia King singled to left and Bobbitt drew her second walk of the game to create traffic on the basepaths once again. Following a strikeout and a passed ball, the Bears had two runners in scoring position with two outs on the board to set up another pinch hitter in Chadwick. Chadwick delivered in her opportunity at the plate, sending a three-run homer to right field to increase the Bears' lead to 12-0.
With the game in run-rule territory,
Makenzi Swick and Co. were able to work around a one-out walk to close the game with a fly out and strikeout.
The Bears offense got all nine of its hits from different batters, as Johansen led the way with four RBI. Chadwick and Rowland also drove in multiple runs with three and two RBI, respectively. MoState also drew seven free passes in the game and the Bears were perfect in the field with no errors.
In the circle, Swick (2-1) picked up her second win of the season after tossing a complete-game one-hitter. The senior struck out four and walked two in the 12-0 victory.
Game 2
Missouri State 6, Northwestern State 1
Missouri State faced host Northwestern State in the second game of the day and came away with a 6-1 win.
The Bears kept the momentum going from game one to strike in the top of the first inning against the Lady Demons. With two outs and two runners on via a hit by pitch and a single,
Alexis Perales sent a ball through the left side of the infield to drive in the first run of the game for Missouri State. In the bottom of the first, Northwestern State got runners to second and third base with two outs, but
Emily Koranda got a strikeout to end the inning and strand two.
MoState struck again in the third inning, posting three runs on four hits and an NSU error. Rowland got things going for the Bears with an infield single, followed by a double to left center field by Studer. Baber came up with runners in scoring position and sent a double to left field to score both runs. Following an NSU error and a couple of quick pop ups,
Kayla Ulrich hit an RBI single to left, but the inning ended as the Lady Demons threw out a second MoState runner attempting to score on the play.
Leading 4-0, Missouri State had to work around a couple of errors in the bottom of the fourth, but a fly out ended the inning and kept Northwestern State off the board.
The Bears added a couple of insurance runs in the top of the fifth inning. Baber got on base via a walk with one out, before Johansen came to the plate and hit her second home run in as many games, this time a two-run shot to center field to make it 6-0 in favor of MoState.
As the game headed to the bottom of the seventh with the Bears needing three outs to secure the win, Northwestern State scored its first run of the game. The Lady Demons used a one-out solo homer to break up the shutout, but the MoState defense closed it out to win 6-1 and sweep the first day of the City of Lights Classic.
Johansen led the way with two hits, while she and Baber both tallied two RBI in the game. The Bears totaled seven hits, three going for extra bases, and collected four free passes.
In the circle, Koranda (5-2) earned her fifth victory of the season after tossing the complete game. The freshman allowed one run on six hits and fanned seven Lady Demons.
UP NEXT
Missouri State is back in action tomorrow (Feb. 28) for its second and final day of the tournament. The Bears will face UAPB at 10:00 a.m. and Northwestern State at 12:30 p.m. The game against NSU will stream on ESPN+.
