Lady Vikings split four in Tucson

Senior Lindsey Stapp had a pair of RBI singles during the Lady Vikings' 8-0 victory over York (Neb.). (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Missouri Valley College softball teams beat the opponents it should and hung tough against more heralded clubs during the first two days of the Tucson Invitational, splitting four games.

The Lady Vikings got off to a good start Sunday with a 5-1 victory over Cardinal Strich (Wis.) as freshman Jamie Jungerman fired a three-hitter -- allowing no earned runs and striking out a career-high 11 batters.

Junior Janae Borrego's run-scoring double put Valley ahead in the bottom of the first inning, but the Lady Wolves tied in when freshman Anna Flock singled and came in on a wild pitch in the second.

However, that was it for Strich (0-1). The Lady Vikings put together a four-run rally with two outs -- getting back-to-back doubles from junior Wendy Garcia and freshman Cassidy Baggett for three runs, followed by senior Kimberly Fuller's RBI single.

Then Valley ran into a buzz saw, losing a 7-2 contest to Lubbock Christian (Texas) -- the top-ranked team in the NAIA. The Lady Vikings fell behind early, yielding three runs in the top of the first -- two on senior Kelly Griego's single.

The Lady Chaparrals (26-1) took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth, but Valley scored a run on Borrego's double and tallied again in the fifth when junior Sara Irminger singled home a run.

Griego picked up the win, improving to 11-0 -- while seeing her earned-run average rise to 1.11 -- and senior Ginalee Davis smacked a pair of homers, her ninth and 10th of the season.

The Lady Vikings began Monday with an 8-0 whitewash of a solid York (Neb.) squad, senior Alana Bentz throwing a three-hit shutout in her first start of the season.

Senior Lindsey Stapp and Garcia knocked in runs with singles in the first inning and junior Kelly Smith did the same in the second. Jungerman's two-run double in the fifth made it 5-0 and Valley ended the day for the Lady Panthers (12-9) with three runs in the sixth -- junior Edna Gutierrez plating the first one and coming in on Stapp's single.

The day ended for the Lady Vikes with a 5-3 loss to Minot State (N.D.), the second-ranked team in the Dakota Athletic Conference.

The Beavers got on the board first with senior Lana Dubois' lead-off homer in the second, got two runs in the third on singles by freshman Deanna Mitchell and senior Alicia Penner, and made it 5-0 in the fourth when Mitchell singled home a run.

Valley threatened to catch up in the sixth, loading the bases with nobody out. Kaneshiro stroked a one-out single and two scored on Baggett's base hit.

With runners on the corners, though, Minot State (10-4) turned a rally-killing double play to maintain the lead.

The Lady Vikings (9-9) play two more games today, against Hutchinson (Ind.) and Trinity Christian (Ill.), before getting a one-day break in the packed schedule.