Mustangs Drop Two in Doubleheader to Cougars and Fighting Bees

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Mount Mercy's softball team closed out the Dome Tournament hosted by Saint Ambrose, dropping a pair of losses in Sunday's doubleheader. The Mustangs would fall to Saint Xavier, 11-9, before falling to Saint Ambrose, 3-2. 

GAME 1

In game one of the doubleheader, the Mustangs fell to the Saint Xavier Cougars, 11-9. 

Right off the bat, the Cougars scored the first couple of runs in the top of the first and held the Mustangs in the bottom half for a 2-0 lead to start the game. The Mustangs responded in the second inning, holding the Cougars in the top half and later scoring their first run of the game off Ellie Stember's RBI single. 

The Cougars had an explosion of runs in the third inning, tallying six runs, led by Mallory O'Connor's two-RBI double. The Mustangs added two runs in the bottom of the inning, bringing the score to 8-2 at the end of the third. After a scoreless fourth inning, both teams scored one run in the fifth. The Mustangs then held the Cougars scoreless in the top of the sixth before scoring three runs of their own, narrowing the score to 9-7 heading into the seventh inning. 

In the seventh inning, the Cougars scored two runs, extending their lead to 11-7. The Mustangs battled back in the bottom half, scoring two runs, but it was not enough as the Cougars got the final out of the game, sealing their 11-9 victory over the Mustangs.

Mount Mercy's Alyssa McElvain took the loss of the game, giving up eight runs on eight Cougar hits in four innings pitched. Maggie McNally came in for the Mustangs, pitching three innings and giving up three runs on three hits. 

Saint Xavier's Payton Antkiewicz claimed the win for the Cougars, allowing only seven runs and giving up 14 hits to the Mustangs. 

GAME 2

Game two of Sunday's doubleheader saw the Fighting Bees taking down the Mustangs 3-2. 

With the game's first three innings remaining scoreless, the Fighting Bees would put up the first runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring three runs. Being down 3-0, the Mustangs would put up two runs in the top of the fifth, making it a one-run game. 

The sixth inning remained scoreless as both teams were prevented from scoring their runners on base. The Fighting Bees claimed their one-run victory as Leah Maro shut down the Mustangs to secure their 3-2 win. 

Ashley Webb was tagged with the Mustangs' loss after pitching six innings and giving up three runs and five hits. 

Allyson Harold took the win for the Fighting Bees, allowing two runs and five hits while striking out four Mustangs in the five innings pitched. Leah Maro added four strikeouts. 

Mount Mercy (3-7) will take a short break before returning to action on March 15 in Arizona. They will face Simpson at 11:00 a.m. and Nelson at 1:30 p.m.