Westminster splits with Greenville

Sophomore starter Alyson Hahn's RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the host Lady Blue Jays over the Lady Panthers 6-5 in the opener of Wednesday's SLIAC doubleheader.

Westminster College - forced to settle for a split after dropping the second game 5-2 - ended the regular season at 13-20 overall and 10-8 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Lady Blue Jays will have to wait and see if they qualify for the conference postseason tournament, scheduled for April 30-May 2 at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois.

Westminster owned a 5-3 lead in Wednesday's first game, but Greenville (Illinois) College rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game and force extra innings. Sophomore catcher Alyssa Johnson was placed on second under the international tiebreaker rule to start the Lady Blue Jays' eighth and Hahn followed with a double to right, scoring Johnson with the winning run.

Hahn went 2-for-4 and also supplied an RBI double in the fifth as Westminster broke out for 13 hits. Freshman left fielder Amber Tepen finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while freshman first baseman Abby Bartley - a South Callaway graduate - was 4-for-4 with an RBI single in the third.

Sophomore third baseman Anne Baker went 3-for-4 and scored a run. Sophomore center fielder Allison Biggs finished 1-for-4 with a solo home run to left in the fifth.

Hahn (11-9) allowed five runs - only three earned - on just four hits to pick up the complete-game victory. She struck out five and walked three. The Lady Blue Jays committed four errors.

The Lady Panthers put up all the runs they would need in the nightcap when they tallied three in the first. Baker was responsible for both Westminster runs, driving in one with a single in the first and the other on a sacrifice fly in the third.

Greenville - despite being out-hit 10-9 by the Lady Blue Jays - scored its other runs in the second and fourth.

Baker was 2-for-2 to pace Westminster, while Biggs went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Tepen was also 2-for-4 and scored once.

Bartley (1-7) went the distance in suffering the loss, giving up five runs - four earned - on eight hits. She issued three walks and struck out none.