LEBANON, Ill. | Bearcat Field - McKendree University softball (20-11, 3-1 GLVC) closed out its non-conference slate on Thursday afternoon, dominating the Rangers of UW-Parkside with 9-0 and 7-4 final scores. The Bearcats utilized fiery bats to take over the doubleheader with 19 total hits, six home runs and five doubles while scoring 16 runs. McKendree jumps back into its GLVC schedule for the remainder of the season, hosting Missouri-St. Louis on March 24 for a pair of games beginning at 12PM at Bearcat Field.

Game 1 vs. UW-Parkside
Out of the first five batters for the Bearcats, three blasted home runs to begin the game for McKendree, putting the opening inning advantage to 4-0 for the host. Junior infielder Sarah Roth, sophomore infielder Lauren Harris, and senior infielder Reagan Cheely all tallied homers in the first with Roth's and Harris' being solo bombs and Cheely's being a two-run shot with graduate infielder Olivia Stansbury scoring. 

In the second inning, McKendree continued to pour it on with five more runs on six hits, which included three doubles as Cheely, Harris, and junior utility Heaven Lawrence each fired a hit deep into the outfield. The Bearcats held off the Rangers for the run-rule win in five innings with senior pitcher Ellie Quaethem (11-5) getting the win in the circle, notching her sixth shutout of the season. She also tallied seven punchouts. 

Game 2 vs. UW-Parkside
The offense did not slow down in game two of the day, as McKendree put up seven more for the sweep. Stansbury sent a sac fly to open scoring in game two, bringing in Roth for the 1-0 lead. In the third, Harris launched another homer before freshman outfilder Molly Bartz drove a single through the gap, scoring Stansbury to make it a 3-0 game. 

Parkside fought back to tie the game in the top of the fourth, 3-3, but Harris put McKendree back on top with a two-run homer as senior outfielder Taylor Witges score on the shot. Senior outfielder Jordan Sapp then got in on the offensive bombardment, firing her own two-run homer in the fifth inning with Cheely round home on her hit. McKendree led 7-3 after the fifth and did not look back in game two. 

The Rangers added one more run in the seventh but could not trump strong pitching performances from the Bearcats' staff. Junior Paige McAllister (9-5) got the victory in the circle while Quaethem notched her second save of the season.

NOTES
McKendree finished out its non-conference slate with a 17-10 record following the sweep of the Rangers, improving to 17-7 all-time against UW-Parkside in the process. The Bearcats have now notched consecutive winning seasons in non-conference play. 

Lauren Harris tallied five hits in seven at-bats in the doubleheader with all five being extra-base knocks. Harris totaled three home runs, two doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored. She owns 55 hits this year with 25 being extra-base hits. 

Ellie Quaethem tallied her 11th win and 10th complete game in the pair of games while also earning her second save of the season. Quaethem got her sixth shutout performance of the spring while striking out seven in the 9-0 win over Parkside. 

UP NEXT
March 24 | 12PM / 2PM vs UMSL | Bearcat Field - Lebanon, Illinois | Watch / Live Stats

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