(BOURBONNAIS, Ill., April 7)- The McKendree University softball team lost both of its games on the final day of the Olivet Nazarene University Invitational. The Bearcats were defeated by the host Tigers, 6-3, before falling to Aquinas College (Mich.) in the second game, 4-3.

McKendree falls to 15-20 overall and will travel to Quincy, Ill., on Thursday, April 12th to face Quincy University in a doubleheader at 2 p.m.

McKendree 3, Olivet Nazarene 6

The Bearcats battled back from a two run deficit to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning, but surrendered three runs over the final tow innings to fall to Olivet Nazarene, 6-3.

Trailing 2-0 in the top of the second, freshman centerfielder Erica Johnson (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) cut the deficit in half with one swing of the bat with a solo homerun to birng McKendree within one, 2-1.

The Tigers added another run in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead, but the Bearcats would tie the game in the fifth inning. Freshman leftfielder Caitling Stredde reached first on a two-out single, and freshman shortstop Caty Ponce (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) followed with a homerun to tie the game 3-3.

Olivet Nazarene out-hit McKendree, 7-2, over the final two innings, and scored three runs to build a 6-3 lead and iwn the game.

Senior pitcher Autumn Allen (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East HS) fell to 9-4 overall and had three strikeouts in the loss. Stredde and Johnson each had two hits to lead the Bearcats at the plate in game one.

McKendree 3, Aquinas 4

The game was scoreless through the first three innings, until an RBI single by junior Dana Schulte (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) put McKendree in front 1-0 in the top of the fourth. Aquinas then tied the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back doubles.

The Bearcats regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning when freshman rightfielder Eleni Polites (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) scored on an error by the shortstop to put McKendree in front 2-1. Aquinas answered by tying the game again, 2-2, in the bottom of the inning by scoring on an error by the first baseman.

Junior catcher Emily Mouyard (Johnson City, Ill./Johnson City) gave McKendree what would be its final lead of the game, 3-2, on a solo homerun in the sixth inning, only for Aquinas to score twice in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead and hold on for the win.

Senior pitcher BethAnn Swartz (Urbana, Ill./Urbana HS) was tabbed with the loss in relief, pitching 1.2 innings and striking out two to fall to 2-8 overall. Polites was 3-for-3 with one run scored, while Mouyard was 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored.