ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Lewis University softball team opened Great Lakes Valley Conference play against Maryville University, dropping a pair of hard-fought games on Sunday afternoon to the Saints, 2-1 and 8-4.

TEAM RECORDS
Lewis: 17-8 overall, 0-2 GLVC | Maryville: 14-10 overall, 2-0 GLVC

Game 1: Maryville 2, Lewis 1
Neither team could muster a run in the pitching duel between Delaney Garden (Carpentersville, IL/Harry D. Jacobs High School) from Lewis and Emerson Heron from Maryville until the top of the sixth inning.

Back-to-back-to-back one-out singles from Garden, Jalyn Powell (Tolono, IL/Unity) and Kristen Graham (Mapleton, IL/Illini Bluffs High School) in the top of the sixth inning along with an error by the Saints allowed Lewis to push across the game's first run.

Maryville's bats nearly stayed in a slumber for the entire game but awoke at the right time for the Saints to mount one final attempt at a comeback in the bottom of the seventh when a one-out double down the left field line tied the game. A two-out single to left allowed the Saints to win in walk-off fashion, 2-1.

Lewis garnered six hits on the game with Garden collecting a game-best three. She also contributed in the circle, where her record dropped to 6-3 despite giving up just two runs with one earned on four hits with a walk, a HBP and seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched.

Heron was able to get an aggressive Lewis team to produce just one unearned run on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts in just 71 pitches to average 10 pitches per inning.
 
Game 2: Maryville 8, Lewis 4
All of the scoring in the second game was done by the end of the fourth inning as Maryville rode the momentum from the victory in Game 1 to also take Game 2.

Down 2-0 after run-scoring singles by the Saints in each of the first two innings, Lewis got on the board when Graham's two-out single to third base pushed across Gabi Nilles (North Aurora, IL/West Aurora) to reduce the deficit down to 2-1.

Back-to-back errors by the left side of the Maryville defense extended the inning and allowed Graham to score the tying run heading into what would prove to be the decisive half inning of the game.

Maryville would send eight batters to the plate and collected six hits to score four runs for a 6-2 lead after three complete innings.

A bases loaded one-out walk in the top of the fourth by Powell cut the Flyers's deficit to 6-3. Graham would reach on a fielder's choice and drove in Nilles from third, but a runner for Lewis was a bit too aggressive and was tagged out when trying to advance from second to home on the play ending the threat with the third out of the inning.

Maryville responded with a pair of unearned runs for what would eventually prove to be the final margin of 8-4 as the Flyers would go down in order in each of the final three innings.
 
UP NEXT
The Flyers will remain on the road to complete the trip with another GLVC doubleheader against McKendree University on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for noon.