The first game was scoreless until the top of the third inning. Junior outfielder Whitney Clark led off with a single to shortstop and sophomore shortstop Tasha Konkle bunted her to second. Freshman second baseman Kristin Kurelic singled to put runners at first and third and then stole second base. Sophomore outfielder Leslie Banichar (left) lined an RBI-single to centerfield and then stole second base to once again put runners at second and third. Sophomore designated player Staci Graham followed with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to put MVNU (23-18, 9-11 AMC South) in front 2-0.

The host Blue Knights (18-19, 9-11 AMC South) cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth inning. Tami Lasley drew a lead-off walk and then moved all the way to third when Dani Finley reached second on an error. Jessica Tuttle plated Lasley with a squeeze bunt to close the gap to 2-1 with Finley advancing to third. However, the Lady Cougars got out of the jam as Kaya Nenninger struck out looking and Erin Dowdell grounded out.

From there, the pitching took over again as MVNU held on for the 2-1 victory despite Urbana having numerous scoring opportunities as evidenced by the fact that the Blue Knights stranded nine runners on base.

Senior right-hander Kristin Eyerman (right) (12-6) earned the victory on the mound for the Lady Cougars as she allowed just six hits, three walks, and one unearned run over seven innings with four strikeouts.

Finley (6-5) took the tough loss for the Blue Knights as she allowed just six hits, one walk, and two runs over seven innings with one strikeout.

Offensively, Clark led MVNU by going 2-for-3, while four other players singled. Urbana was led by Erica Schroeder, who went 3-for-4, and Finley, who was 2-for-3.

With their playoff hopes still alive, the Lady Cougars used the momentum from the first-game victory to propel them to a quick start in the second game as MVNU scored five runs in the top of the first inning to take a commanding early lead. Banichar and junior third baseman Karly Clay both had RBI-singles in the inning, while Graham had a run-scoring double. Junior first baseman Kylie Rupert also came through with a big two-out, two-run double to left center.

The Lady Cougars added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI infield single by sophomore outfielder Lauretta Wallace and a run-scoring ground out by Rupert as MVNU’s lead grew to 7-0.

A one-out walk by Konkle in the top of the sixth inning helped the Lady Cougars’ manufacture another run as she was bunted to second by Kurelic and then came around to score on an RBI-single by Banichar to give MVNU a commanding 8-0 lead.

The Blue Knights avoided being shutout in the bottom of the sixth inning when Schroeder led off the inning with a single and then Brittany Heunen and Jackie Masur drew back-to-back walks to load the bases with no outs.

At that point, head coach Jeana Howald elected to bring in junior right-hander Candace White to replace Eyerman, who had gone the distance in the second game up until that point. White proceeded to get two ground outs and a strikeout to get the Lady Cougars out of the jam with the only run coming on Linsey Manning’s RBI-ground out. MVNU would go on to take the game 8-1.

Eyerman earned her second win of the day as she went five-plus innings and allowed just three hits, two walks, and one run with one strikeout. White tossed two scoreless innings of relief and registered three strikeouts.

Urbana used three pitchers in the game as starter Ashley Meyer started and registered just one out while giving up three hits, one hit batter, and four runs. Jesse Swinderman tossed three innings of relief and allowed three hits, one walk, and one run with two strikeouts. Katie Cramer tossed the final 3.2 innings and surrendered five hits, two walks, and three runs with one strikeout.

Banichar led the Lady Cougars at the plate by going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Wallace added a pair of hits, while Rupert (left) drove in three runs. Konkle also scored two times.

The Blue Knights were led by Schroeder with two singles, while Heunen’s one-out double in the bottom of the first inning was Urbana’s only other hit in the game.

MVNU will now wait to see who and where they will play in the NAIA Region IX Tournament that is scheduled to start next Wednesday. The Lady Cougars finished tied for third in the AMC South Division standings with Urbana, but will get the third and final berth from the AMC South Division due to sweeping the four-game series between the two schools this year. The seven-team double-elimination NAIA Region IX Tournament will most likely be held at either Walsh University or the University of Rio Grande. The location and tournament bracket will be announced on Sunday evening. The winner of the tournament will advance to the NAIA National Tournament on May 16-21 in Decatur, Ala.