A two-run first-inning homer by junior Lindsey Stapp got the Lady Vikings off to a good start during their 7-5 win over Southwest Baptist. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

BOLIVAR -- Saturday's non-conference twinbill in Bolivar between the Missouri Valley College softball team and NCAA Division II member Southwest Baptist was no joy for pitchers.

The teams combined to score 12 runs in each game, the Lady Vikings winning the opener, 7-5 in eight innings, before dropping a 10-2 getaway contest in five innings.

Valley jumped on the Lady Bearcats' in the first inning of the early contest when junior Lindsey Stapp belted a two-run homer.

The seesaw affair turned in Baptist's favor in the fifth when freshman Sarah Brison slapped a two-run double down the left-field line for a 3-2 lead.

The Lady Vikings went up 5-3 in the seventh on junior Suzanne Horine's three-run shot, but SBU forced the extra frame when two errors and junior Rachel Shaw's RBI single evened the score.

A one-out walk gave Valley the opening it needed in the top of the eighth, two runs coming in on junior Heather Sliger's double. Sophomore Tatum Hathcock retired Baptist without a hit in the bottom of the set to get the win.

Hathcock, though, could not handle the Lady Bearcats in the nightcap. Southwest Baptist (7-13) scored nine runs in the first two innings, with junior Ashley Loftis and Brison each smashing two-run dingers in the first and junior Taressa Gomez adding two-run shot in the second.

Both of the Lady Vikings' runs crossed on junior Kimberly Fuller's fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning.

Valley (9-11) gets a week off before heading to Culver-Stockton for a Heart of America Conference doubleheader Saturday.