Tahlequah, Okla. – The Bearcats began their Oklahoma road trip with a double header against Northeastern State Thursday afternoon. The Riverhawks narrowly won both games, 2-1 and 1-0. SBU moves to 5-34 (2-10) due to the losses.
 
Game One
Maddie Massanelli was the pitcher in game one, having a solid outing. Kori Hillenburg was the first Bearcat on base, reaching with a two out single in the 2^nd inning. In the 3^rd inning, Emily Hall drew a walk to lead things off. SBU put runners on first and third following a sacrifice bunt from Nicole Horstman that led to a throwing error by the third baseman. The Riverhawks got one out as Horstman was caught stealing. Megan Schellert was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners once again, but an F9 9-2 double play ended the inning as Hall tried to score on a sacrifice fly opportunity.
 
Massanelli retired the first two batters in the 3^rd via strikeouts, and later got the third out on a lineout to the shortstop. It wasn't until the 6^th inning that the scoreless tie was broken, but NSU finally did, scoring one to take a 1-0 heading into the final frame. Leading off the 7^th was Rachel Brown, driving a single to right field. Taryn Elia took over on first as a pinch runner for Brown. Allison Petry did her job as the next batter, moving Elia to second on a sacrifice bunt. It was then Kori Hillenburg coming up clutch, doubling to right center and evening the score at 1-1. However, the Riverhawks battled back, scoring in the 7^th to end the game 2-1.
 
Kori Hillenburg had a solid game at the plate, going 2-3 with SBU's lone RBI. Maddie Massanelli also had a solid game, going 6.0 innings, giving up just 5 hits and 1 earned run.
 
Game Two
The Bearcats gained a base runner in the 1^st inning after Paige St. Pierre got hit by a pitch. The Riverhawks also generated some offense in the 1^st, but solid pitching and defense kept the home team off the board.
 
In the 4^th inning, Paige St. Pierre led off with a single through the left side. However, a fielder's choice and double play put an end to the offensive threat. NSU was able to load the bases in the bottom of the 4^th, but the Bearcats worked out of the jam. Morgan McMullin doubled to lead off the 5^th, but two ground outs and a pop up ended the inning without any runs scoring. The Riverhawks played the 7^th inning in the perfect way, scoring a run to end the game in walk-off fashion.
 
Kaylee Schmidli pitched all 6.2 innings, giving up 1 earned run on just 6 hits.
 
SBU heads down to Edmond, OK to play the #2 team in the nation, Central Oklahoma, on Friday at 1 PM.