BOLIVAR, Mo. - The Lewis University softball team picked up a pair of wins Saturday (April 24) over Southwest Baptist, beating the hosts 3-2 and 8-4. The Flyers move to 21-14 overall, 12-10 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while the Bearcats fall to 2-34, 1-21 in the GLVC.

Sara Serena (Kankakee, Ill./Kankakee) had four hits and three RBI to lead Lewis offensively on the day, while the Flyers belted three home runs on the afternoon. Flyer pitchers struck out nine batters between the two games.

In the first game SBU built a 2-0 advantage with a pair of runs in the third inning before Lewis got on the board in the fifth inning when Elexis Swartzentruber (Normal, Ill./Normal Community) reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Jessica Lofthouse (Oswego, Ill./Oswego).

The score remained the same in the sixth inning when Cierra Taylor (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) homered to straightaway center field and after an out, Kristin Kavalauskas (Oak Forest, Ill./Tinley Park) homered to left center to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead.

The Bearcats advanced runners to second base in each of their final two at-bats, but the Flyers were able to get the final out of each inning, the sixth on a force out at third base and in the seventh on a line out to center to end the game.

Serena and Olivia Magaldi (Mishawka, Ind./Penn) each went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Katie David (Mapleton, Ill./Illini Bluffs) (11-6) picked up the win, going seven innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs, striking out six. Reilly Rupert (1-11) took the loss, allowing six hits and three earned runs in seven innings.

Southwest Baptist scored first in the second game on a home run in the second, but Lewis came back with four runs in the fourth. Magaldi reached on an error, which scored Serena and David. Then Morgan Weber (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) singled home Magaldi and later stole home for the fourth run.

Lewis added two more runs in the fifth as David grounded out to score Kavalauskas and Serena hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Courtney Mahalik (New Lenox, Ill./Providence Catholic) for a 6-1 advantage.

SBU got three runs back in the sixth, all on solo home runs, but Serena belted a two-run home run in the top of the seventh to add some insurance, scoring David.

Serena had another 2-for-3 performance to go along with three RBI and two runs scored. Anna Gustafson (Elkhart, Ind./Penn) (3-3) earned the win, allowing nine hits and four earned runs in 5.2 innings. Payton Wuske (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) closed out the game, allowing one hit in 1.1 innings. Emma Wood (0-17) suffered the loss, allowing six hits and six runs, none earned, over five innings.

The Flyers are back in action Sunday (April 25) when they travel to take on Drury in a doubleheader that begins at 12 p.m.