Lady Vikes drop two to Park

The Park pitching staff limited the Missouri Valley College softball team's offense to a pair of three-hit games Friday during a non-conference doubleheader sweep in the Lyon Bowl.

Freshman Justine Riner tossed a shutout, striking out five batters, as the Lady Pirates took the opener, 7-0. Park scored three runs in the top of the first inning, two on senior Alicia Wedel's single, and four more in the fifth -- a single by sophomore Emily Calder plating two runs, a third coming in on an error.

Calder's two-out RBI single in the second inning gave Park and early lead in the nightcap, but the Lady Vikings tied it in the fifth on senior Heather Sliger's solo homer -- her third of the season.

Valley was close to getting out of jam in the sixth, but senior Lisa Luettinger dropped in a bloop single with two outs to bring in the go-ahead run. Senior Jamie Garman threw two hitless, scoreless innings for the Lady Pirates (5-0) to save the game for sophomore Brittany Johnson.

Park had 10 hits in the finale, but left eight on base. Freshman Janie Jungerman was the hard-luck loser for the Lady Vikings (7-7), who saw their five-game win streak snapped.

Valley will play 13 games over six days at the Tucson Invitational, which begins Sunday.