NATCHITOCHES, La. – Missouri State softball (11-7) split its final day at the City of Lights Classic with a 9-0 run-rule win over UAPB before falling to Northwestern State 5-3.
 
Game 1
Missouri State 9, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 (6 innings)
The Bears got Saturday started with a 9-0 run-rule victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in six innings.
 
Missouri State took advantage of a couple of free passes to put two on with two outs for the Bears in the first inning. Kayla Ulrich delivered an RBI single to center field, scoring Halle Studer from second base to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
 
After both squads posted zeroes on the scoreboard in the second through fourth innings, the Bears opened up the scoring with six runs in the top of the fifth. A couple of UAPB errors helped MoState early in the frame, the first allowing pinch runner Mya January to reach third base after coming on to run when Riley Baber was hit by a pitch. The second error allowed Aubrey Johansen to reach base and advance to third, while January scored. Following a fielder's choice to get the runner going home, a Brynn Romine walk and a Sidney McLaughlin single through the left side loaded the bases with two outs. Three straight hits for the Bears drove in five more runs to burst the game open. Emily Gerardy sent a two-RBI single through the right side, followed by an Emily Chadwick two-RBI triple down the right field line and the scoring was capped off with a Lauren Rowland RBI single to left center field.
 
Two consecutive MoState errors in the bottom of the fifth put some traffic on the basepaths for UAPB, but Paityn Engemann and Co. shut down the threat by forcing a foul out and back-to-back ground outs to keep the Lady Lions off the board.
 
For the second consecutive day against UAPB, the Bears were able to put the game in run-rule territory as they posted two additional runs in the top of the sixth inning. Baber knocked a leadoff double to center field to get things started and Johansen walked to put two on base with no outs. A fly out allowed Baber to advance to third, putting runners on the corners for pinch hitter Sofia King. King delivered in her pinch-hit opportunity, sending an RBI double to left field and Johansen advanced to third base. Sidney McLaughlin came up to bat and sent a sacrifice fly to left field, driving in Johansen to put the Bears three outs away from victory.
 
Engemann closed out the game with a three-up, three-down inning consisting of a fly out, a pop up and a ground out to third to secure the 9-0 run-rule victory in six innings.
 
MoState's nine hits and nine runs were all hit and scored by nine different players, while Gerardy and Chadwick paced the Bears with two RBI each. The Bears collected seven total free passes in the game and struck out just twice as a team. In the circle, Engemann (1-2) earned her first victory of the season with a complete game shutout. She hurled 6.0 innings and allowed just two hits while striking out two Lady Lions.
 
Game 2
Northwestern State 5, Missouri State 3
It wasn't an ideal start for Missouri State in their final game of the City of Lights Classic as host Northwestern State put five runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning. All of NSU's runs in the first were scored without a hit as MoState walked five batters in the inning, hit one batter with a pitch and also committed an error to face an early deficit.
 
Missouri State wasn't giving up though as Emily Koranda came on and helped steady the ship. The Bears' offense continued to chip away at the lead, while Koranda held the Lady Demons hitless for the rest of the game.
 
The Bears finally broke through on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Rowland led the frame off with a double to left center field, followed later by a Baber single up the middle to put runners at second and third. Johansen then sent a sacrifice fly to center field, plating the first run for Missouri State.
 
An NSU error to start the top of the fifth got things going for the Bears with a runner immediately in scoring position. After a fly out that advanced Romine to third, King once again delivered in a pinch-hit opportunity, knocking an RBI single down the right field line to make it a 5-2 game.
 
With nothing doing for either team in the sixth, the Bears were down to their final three outs and tried to make things interesting in the top of the seventh. Alexis Perales led the inning off with a single to left field. Despite getting the leadoff runner on, the Bears were quickly down to their final out. Rowland kept hope alive for the Bears with an RBI double down the left field line to cut into the lead once again, making it 5-3. Studer nearly played hero as she sent a ball to deep right field, but the NSU right fielder made a great play at the wall to end the game and the Bears' comeback effort.
 
Missouri State tossed a rare no-hitter despite taking a loss. Rowland paced the MoState offense with two hits, both doubles, and drove in a run on the afternoon.