Things did not start out well for the Lady Cougars (19-15, 12-8 AMC) as the host Lady Bears (10-13, 10-10 AMC), who needed a sweep to make the playoffs themselves, got on the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning as Ashley Speas singled in a run and Lori Harmon added an RBI-double to give Shawnee State a 2-0 lead.

MVNU finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning when junior outfielder Leslie Banichar (left) reached on an error, stole second base, stole third base, and came around to score on an error to cut the lead in half at 2-1.

Then, in the top of the fifth inning, the Lady Cougars manufactured another run to tie the game at 2-2. With one out, sophomore second baseman Kristin Kurelic reached on an infield single, stole second base, moved to third base on ground out by freshman outfield MacKenzie Shaw, and then came in to score on a wild pitch.

MVNU pushed across the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning when senior designated player Laura Morris singled, Banichar doubled, and Kurelic was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Then, an error allowed each runner to move up as the Lady Cougars moved in front 3-2. However, a potential insurance run was erased when senior third baseman Karly Clay flew into a double play with Banichar being thrown out at the plate trying to tag up and score.

Shawnee State threatened with a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the final two outs came as a result of pop ups on the infield as MVNU prevailed and clinched the No. 4 seed in the upcoming AMC Tournament.

White (17-10) (right) posted the victory on the mound for the Lady Cougars as she allowed just four hits, one walk, and two runs (only one earned) over seven innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts.

Harmon (5-6) took the loss as she gave up six hits and three runs (two earned) over seven innings with five strikeouts.

Six different MVNU players collected one hit in the game with Banichar’s double being the only extra base hit. Meanwhile, Speas had a double and a single to account for half of the Lady Bears hits.

The second game proved to be a pitchers’ duel as it was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning when Shawnee State was finally able to push across the first run of the game on an RBI-single by Speas.

The Lady Cougars bats finally came to life with two outs in the top of the seventh inning when freshman outfielder MacKenzie Shaw kept MVNU alive with a single to rightfield. Clay followed with a double to right center to drive in Shaw and knot the score at 1-1.

However, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Speas came through once again with a two-out, run-scoring single to give the Lady Bears a 2-1 walk-off win in their season finale.

White suffered the loss in relief as she gave up two hits and a run while registering two outs in the seventh inning. Sophomore lefty Stephanie Burlew started and worked six innings as she scattered seven hits, two walks, and one run with two strikeouts.

Katie Daniel (5-6) earned the win for Shawnee State as she allowed just six hits and one run over seven innings with five strikeouts.

Clay collected two of MVNU’s six hits with a double and a single. Meanwhile, Speas had two more hits for the Lady Bears and Daniel helped her cause on the mound with two hits of her own.

The Lady Cougars will now advance to the five-team, double-elimination AMC Tournament that will get under way on Wednesday at Notre Dame College. First-round game times and match-ups will be released on Tuesday.