The Briar Cliff softball team split a pair of games Friday at the Branson RecPlex, falling to Kansas Wesleyan in a close contest before bouncing back with a win over Stephens College.

Game 1 vs. Kansas Wesleyan – L, 5–4
Briar Cliff battled throughout their opening game Friday morning but came up just short in a 5–4 loss to Kansas Wesleyan.

The Coyotes struck first in the second inning with a solo home run before adding another run in the third on a double to right field. The Chargers answered in the bottom of the third, tying the game at two after Shelby Blankenship delivered an RBI single.

Kansas Wesleyan regained the lead in the fifth inning with a run-scoring single and later extended the advantage with an RBI double to make it 5–2. Briar Cliff threatened late but could not complete the comeback.

Blankenship led the Chargers offensively with two RBIs while going 2-for-4 at the plate. Montie Richter, Blankenship, Sydney Ebel, and Elizabeth Austin each collected two hits in the contest. BCU applied pressure on the bases, recording four stolen bases, including two from Richter. 

Defensively, the Chargers were clean in the field, committing no errors, with Kaela Persico recording a team-high 11 chances.

Game 2 vs. Stephens College – W, 9–3
Briar Cliff responded in game two with a strong offensive performance, defeating Stephens College 9–3.

The Chargers opened the scoring in the second inning before Stephens briefly took the lead with two runs in the bottom half of the frame. Stephens added another run in the third on a solo home run.

The Cliff regained control in the fourth inning when Aubrey White doubled to bring home two runs, and an error allowed another run to score, giving the Chargers a 4–3 advantage.

The Chargers added insurance runs late, including a solo home run from Kenadee Loew and an RBI double by Leah Montes in the seventh inning to seal the victory.

Lauryn Mattox earned the win in the circle, pitching a complete game while allowing three runs, one earned, on seven hits. She struck out five and walked one.

Briar Cliff tallied 11 hits in the contest, led by Mattox, who went 3-for-4 at the plate. Montes drove in four runs while going 2-for-4, and Austin added two hits. The Chargers were aggressive on the bases with four stolen bases and turned two double plays defensively.

Briar Cliff returns to action Saturday, taking on Graceland and Culver-Stockton. Game times are set for 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

#BattleOn