Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Bolivar, Mo. – Southwest Baptist gained a doubleheader split with Central Missouri Friday afternoon in the two teams MIAA conference opener. The Bearcats record now stands at 7-12 (1-1 MIAA) and Central Missouri's is 7-13 (1-1 MIAA).

Game 1 Recap
The Bearcats jumped in front right away with two runs in the bottom of the 1^st. Stormy Greathouse was hit by a pitch and later advanced to second, giving Payton Wildeman a chance to drive her in with an RBI single to right. After Wildeman stole second, Emily Hall knocked her in with another two out RBI single.

The Jennies would get on the board in the top of the 2^nd by scoring an unearned run off Bearcat starter Claire Miller. This would be the only offense the Jennies would generate against Miller all game.

After a scoreless 3^rd and 4^th, the Bearcats used a couple Central Missouri errors to load the bases and set the stage for Wildeman. Wildeman smashed a grand slam over the left field fence to break the game open for SBU and give them a 6-1 lead.

The Jennies would threaten in the 6^th and 7^th but Miller slammed the door to give SBU the 6-1 win. Miller threw a complete game on her way to her 5^th win of the season. She went  7 innings with no earned runs allowed, 6 hits, 3 walks, and 9 strikeouts.

At the plate for SBU, Wildeman carried the load with a 2 for 3 performance, 5 RBIs, and 2 runs scored. Jaidyn Mawhinney was also 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Game 2 Recap
After a scoreless 1st inning, the Jennies capitalized on a Bearcat error in the top of the 2^nd that ended up leading to five runs, which chased starting pitcher Hunter Middleton. Four of those runs were unearned off Middleton.

The Bearcat offense had a scoring chance in the bottom of the 2^nd but a lineout and strikeout ended that chance. The score remained at 5-0 for the next four innings with both SBU relief pitcher Kaylee Schmidli and Central Missouri starter Shelby Clark mowing hitters down. The Bearcat offense struggled as they only managed to put three combined runners on base in the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th.

In the top of the 7^th, Central Missouri once again took advantage of a couple of SBU errors to score three unearned runs off of Schmidli and make the score 8-0. In the bottom of the 7^th, Lauren Strobel led off with a walk but was then erased on a double play. Jayden Gonzales extended the game with a single only to see the Central Missouri shortstop make a great diving play on a Kaley Hansen ground ball to end the game.

Middleton was saddled with the loss, making her record 2-3 on the season. Schmidli was outstanding in relief for SBU, pitching 5.1 innings with no earned runs given up, 3 hits allowed, and 1 strikeout.

At the plate, Greathouse, Wildeman, Miranda Aguiliar, Gonzales, and Hansen all went 1 for 3 and accounted for the Bearcats 5 hits in the game.

SBU will return to the diamond on March 13^th when they travel to McKendree University for a doubleheader beginning at 2:00 PM.