(LEBANON, Ill., April 20)--The McKendree University softball team splits its weekday doubleheader with Lindenwood University. The Bearcats dropped the opener 6-2 before rolling to a 17-0 triumph in the nightcap. 

McKendree remains at the .500 mark on the year, bringing their record to 24-24. The Bearcats will close out its 2016 regular season schedule this weekend in the greater Kansas City area for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference twinbills. McKendree will vist William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., on Saturday before wrapping up the regular season Sunday afternoon at Rockhurst University. First pitch each day is set for noon.
 
In game one the Bearcats fought hard but fell short as they fell 6-2. Tylin Stephens (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs High School) tripled to right field in the top of the second, which scored Sara Radae (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville High School). Hanna Branch (Kirkwood, Mo./Kirkwood) then scored an unearned run in the third inning after a fielding error by the Lions, putting the Bearcats up by two. Lindenwood (12-36) then took the lead for good with four runs in the bottom of the third, followed by two more tallies in the fifth. Holly Magre (Festus, Mo./St. Pius X) was charged with the game one loss in the circle as she moved to 12-10 on the year. The Bearcats recorded 10 hits with only one error in the game.
 
In game two the Bearcats found their offensive spark against Lindenwood. McKendree had 17 runs on 16 hits, with the third and sixth innings being the only that the Bearcats did not score. After McKendree posted an unearned run in the first inning, the Bearcats exploded for six more runs in the second. A bases-loaded walk to Jamie Doggendorf (Dittmer, Mo./Northwest) and an RBI single for Hanna Branch (Kirkwood, Mo./Kirkwood) started the uprising before Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest) ripped a two-run single to give McKendree a 5-0 lead. A run-scoring single off the bat of Rachel Hastings (Forsyth, Ill./Maroa-Forsyth High School) and an RBI groundout by Marla Schulte (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) capped the outburst in the second inning. 

McKendree then scored eight times in the fourth inning to extend its margin to 15-0. A two-run single off the bat of Sydne Bryant (Danville, Ill./Schlarman Academy) and a three-run double by Liz Klussman (Washington, Mo./Washington) were the key hits in the frame. Megan Radae (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville High School) and Klussman then added RBI hits in the fifth inning to close out the Bearcats' offensive explosion against the Lions. 
 
Maci Ingram (Woodlawn, Ill./Nashville Community High School) picked up with win and improves to 7-8. Ingram only allowed three hits with nine strikeouts in the effort.