Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (DAHLONEGA, Ga., Feb. 15) – The McKendree University softball team entered Cottrell Foundation Loyal Blue Classic play earlier Friday February 15, first losing to Southern Wesleyan University 5-3 and then stunning the No. 11 Chargers of Alabama Huntsville 9-7.
 
McKendree led the Warriors of Southern Wesleyan for most of the game after scoring three runs in the top of the first inning while SWU scored just one. After tremendous defensive play from both teams, Southern Wesleyan would eventually answer back in the bottom of the fifth when the Warriors went on a four-run rally to take a 5-3 lead with just two innings remaining. The Bearcats were unable to make up the runs and fell 5-3. Freshman Whitney Boschert (Wentzville, MO/Francis Howell High School) led the Bearcats offensively with all three RBIs in the loss.
 
Against No. 11 Huntsville, the Bearcats were able to get on the board early once more scoring three runs in the first two innings, with Huntsville adding one run in the third. McKendree would get back on the board in the fifth inning when Boschert hit a solo homerun to make the score 4-1 in favor of the Bearcats. The Chargers answered back with a high-octane sixth inning that saw them score six runs to take a 7-4 lead, however McKendree had other plans and answered with a five-run rally in the bottom of the sixth to recapture a 9-7 lead. Neither team was able to score in the seventh and McKendree took home the victory.
 
Loyal Blue Classic action recommences Saturday afternoon when the Bearcats rematch Alabama Huntsville at 1 p.m., followed by host University of North Georgia at 3 p.m.