ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's softball team dropped both ends of its doubleheader to open Great Lakes Valley Conference play on Friday at the Lewis Softball Field. The Flyers drop to 7-5 overall and 0-2 in the GLVC while the Bearcats improve to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the GLVC.

Game 1 – McKendree 2, Lewis 1
Lewis had the game's first scoring chance as Cierra Taylor (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) led off the game with a double off the fence in left and went to third on a throwing error by the left fielder. However, the Flyers were unable to score as two strikeouts and a fly out to shallow right ended the threat.

McKendree jumped on the board first as Paige Hayden hit a solo home run to left center with one out in the bottom of the first.

The Bearcats extended their lead in the third as Miranda Gajewski doubled off the fence in right to drive in Jenny Homann with an insurance run.

Lewis cut the lead in half on Elexis Swartzentruber's (Normal, Ill./Normal Community) solo home run to left center with one out in the sixth. The Flyers were unable to rally in the seventh as Gajewski struck out the side for her first save of the season.

Lewis had five hits in the opener with Taylor and Katie David (Mapleton, Ill./Illini Bluffs) leading the way with two apiece to go along with Swartzentruber's long ball.

David was the tough luck loser in the pitcher's duel as she allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts to fall to 2-3 on the year.

Game 2 – McKendree 3, Lewis 0
In the second game the Bearcats again jumped out to the early lead with a run in the bottom of the first. Homann drove in Caitlin Lowry with a single to center and advanced to second on a muffed throw. Anna Gustafson (Elkhart, Ind./Penn) was able to avoid further damage in the inning retiring the next two hitters to keep the deficit at one.

The Flyers had a chance to tie the game in the third putting two on with two out but a groundout back to the circle ended the threat.

McKendree added to its lead scoring on a sacrifice fly in its half of the third and then tacked on an unearned run for insurance in the sixth to make it 3-0.

Lewis brought the tying run to the dish in the seventh but a groundout to second and a lineout to third ended the game.

The Flyers were outhit 8-5 in the contest with Gustafson recording two of the hits while Kristin Kavalauskas (Oak Forest, Ill./Tinley Park), Sara Serena (Kankakee, Ill./Kankakee) and Jalyn Powell (Tolono, Ill./Unity) had a hit apiece. Gustafson took the loss in the circle to fall to 1-1 on the season. She went the distance allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits with a strikeout.

Lewis returns to the diamond on Saturday as it travels to St. Louis, Mo., to take on Missouri-St. Louis in a doubleheader starting at noon.