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KIRKSVILLE -- The Truman softball team split its conference-opening doubleheader with Lincoln (Mo.) on Saturday afternoon, falling 5-4 in extra innings in game one before pounding the Blue Tigers, 12-1, in game two.

After LU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second in game one, Christine Ulses drove home Bridget Schade with a double to left center to cut the deficit to 2-1. Two more Blue Tiger runs put LU ahead 4-1 through four, but Ulses brought the ’Dogs closer again in the sixth, blasting a two-run homerun to left to score Schade again.

Beth Schnurbusch came on in relief of Elizabeth Grover in the seventh and pitched the Bulldogs out of trouble, setting up a game-tying single for pinch-hitter Ashley Rotkvich in the home-half of the inning. Truman had chances to win it, getting runners on 2nd and 3rd with only one out, but a groundout and popout back-to-back sent the game to the extra inning.

Lincoln’s Raschel Hoeflicker connected on a leadoff homerun – her second blast of the game – to put the Blue Tigers ahead for good, as Truman couldn’t get a runner from 2nd home with only one out in their half to fall, 5-4.

Game two was all Bulldogs from the start, as a Schade RBI single in front of a two-RBI double for Meredith Kusky put Truman ahead 3-0 after one. Lincoln would draw to 3-1 in their half of the third, but Truman then pieced together a nine-run, nine-hit inning in the bottom of the third – sending 14 hitters to the plate, including 11 in a row to start without recording an out – to bury the Blue Tigers, 12-1, through the third.

The teams went scoreless the rest of the way, as Rotkvich pitched a complete game to salvage the MIAA-opening split.

Alex Weber had four hits on the afternoon in six at-bats, while four different Bulldogs crushed homeruns. Truman hit three alone in the nine-run third of game two, as the ’Dogs hit .426 as a team for the two games.

The Bulldogs return to action this Tuesday at 3 pm in Kirksville for a doubleheader against Maryville (Mo.) University.

(Courtesy Truman State Athletics Department)