The Charger softball team split their doubleheader on day one of the Friends tournament. They dropped their first contest to Midamerica Nazarene 6-5 and rebounded later in the day to beat Saint Mary 5-3.

"I thought we did a nice job bouncing back after game one," said head coach Erin Bly. "We didn't capitalize at the plate in big moments in game one but did a better job to score with runners on game two."
 
Game 1 vs Midamerica Nazerene - L, 5-6

The Chargers got on the board early, scoring a run in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead. Jessica James got on base via walk and reached third after a double from Alexis Westercamp. An error during the play allowed James to score.
 
The Pioneers responded with a three-run homer to center field from Alli VanLanker to give them a 3-1 lead in the top of the third. The Cliff responded by putting runners on second and third after a Sydney Lierman double with no outs. Aubrey Chichurka hit a sac-fly that allowed Josie Chronic to score from third and the Cliff trailed 3-2. Kylee Lukes hit a two-run shot to deep center field and the Chargers regained the lead.  James added another run in the inning after a Pioneer error to give the Chargers a 5-3 edge.

At the top of the fifth, the Chargers gave up homers to Vanlaker and Klarissa McElroy and the game was tied 5-5.
 
In the top of the seventh, McElroy hit her second homer of the game giving the Pioneers a 6-5 lead heading into the final moments of the game. James got on base and put the Chargers in scoring position, but a groundout from Georgia Krohn ended the game.
 
James went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored two runs. Lukes led the team with two RBIs. Lierman and Westercamp both recorded doubles for the Chargers.
 
Game 2 vs Saint Mary (Kansas) - W, 5-3

The Chargers trailed 2-0 against the Spires early in the contest. Krohn put the first run on the board for the Cliff, hitting a solo bomb to deep left field in the top of the third.
 
The Spires responded in the bottom of the third as Isabelle McCarty singled, driving in Sadie McWilliams.
 
In the top of the fourth, Krohn earned her second RBI of the game, hitting a single to drive in Chronic as the Chargers trailed 3-2.
 
The top of the sixth is where the Chargers took control of the contest, with the bases loaded, Krohn was hit by a pitch and Chichurka scored to tie the game 3-3. Westercamp was next to bat, grounding into a fielders' choice as Lukes scored to make the score 4-3. Karina Cupples singled to center field, scoring James from third as the Chargers to a 5-3 lead.

The Charger defense stepped up in the seventh, closing out the Spires to preserve the 5-3 victory.

Krohn was 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs and one run. Krohn also went 3.1 innings, giving up two earned runs and recorded two strikeouts. Chichuruka went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored one run. 
 
The Chargers move to 3-6 overall and will be back in action at day two of the Friends tournament, taking on Peru State at 10:00AM, Waldorf at 2:00PM, and Friends at 4:00PM.