The Northwest Missouri State University softball team powered its way to a pair of wins on the opening day of the MIAA Tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Thursday.

– The Bearcats run ruled Central Missouri, 11-2, in a five inning first contest on Field No. 3 to start the day.

– In the second game, Northwest beat Pittsburg State, 12-2, at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. PSU won their first game over Southwest Baptist in 14 innings before playing the Bearcats.

– Northwest improves to 29-19 on the year with the two victories.

– Abigail Gilson tied a Northwest single-game record with seven RBIs in the first game victory. Annie Melius had seven RBIs back on April 28, 1987 against Washburn.

– Taylor Blackford threw all 12.0 innings for the Bearcats on Thursday, getting two wins. She allowed just three earned runs and issued only one walk in the two games.

Game One Key Statistics (Northwest 11, Central Missouri 2)
– Northwest scored four in the first, five in the third and two in the fifth. The Jennies scored two runs in the third.

– The Bearcats had 11 runs on 12 hits with one error. Central Missouri had two runs on five hits with an error.

– Gilson drove in seven runs, going 4-for-4 with a grand slam in the first. She scored twice.

– Torri Blythe was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

– Rebecca Maher went 2-for-4 and scored three times.

– Kaitlyn Weis scored once, drove in a run and drew a walk, going 1-for-3.

– Chantel Adams went 1-for-2 with a run scored. She had a double and walked twice.

– Jessica Rawie went 1-for-3 with an RBI. She scored two runs and drew a walk.

– Jaedra Moses scored once and drove in a run, going 1-for-3.

– Kiana Baderdeen had an RBI in the third.

– Karli Allen had a walk.

– Blackford threw all five innings of the run-rule victory. She allowed two runs on five hits. She walked just one while striking out six.

Game One Key Innings
– Northwest took advantage of a UCM error in the first, plating four on a Gilson grand slam. With one out, Weis drew a walk and Maher reached on an error by the third baseman. After another out, Rawie drew a walk to load the bases for Gilson who cleared the bases with her 10th home run of the year over the center field wall.

– Blackford needed just seven pitches in the second inning to retire the Jennies in order.

– Maher led off the third with a single to center amd Adams followed it up with a double to right center to force a pitching change. Rawie then hit a single down the right field line to drive in Maher. Gilson had a single to right to drive in Adams, making it 6-0 Bearcats. After an out, Baderdeen grounded out to second but Rawie came in to score on the play. Moses reached on an infield single to short to drive in Gilson. Blythe and Weis hit back-to-back singles to allow Moses to score, giving Northwest a 9-0 advantage.

– Gilson came through with another bases loaded hit in the fifth inning. Blythe started the frame with a single two batters later, Maher had a single to left center. Adams loaded the bases with a walk and with two down, Gilson hit a single up the middle to score a pair of runs, moving the Bearcat lead to 11-2.
Game Two Key Statistics (Northwest 12, Pittsburg State 2)
– Northwest scored one in the first, four in the second, one in the third, one in the sixth and five in the seventh. The Gorillas scored once in the fifth and once in the seventh.

– The Bearcats had 12 runs on 15 hits with one error. Pittsburg State had two runs on four hits with four errors.

– Northwest led off every inning with a hit with the exception of the fifth.

– Maher went 3-for-5 with four runs driven in. She had a double and a home run, scoring twice.

– Adams was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs. She had a double and a home run in the congest.

– Blythe scored three runs, going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks.

– Moses went 2-for-3, scoring a pair of runs. She was also hit by a pitch.

– Weis drove in three on a double in the seventh. She was 1-for-4 with a run scored and a sacrifice in the first.

– Rawie was 1-for-5 with an RBI.

– Gilson had a double and scored a run, going 1-for-5.

– Allen went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in the

– Baderdeen went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored.

– Blackford threw the complete 7.0 innings for the win, allowing one earned run on four hits with one strikeout. She retired the first 12 batters she faced and did not allow a hit until the 16th Pitt State batter came to the plate.

Game Two Key Innings
– Blythe started the first with an infield single to second, After Weis sacrificed her over to second, Maher hit a single to right to put runners on the corners. After a strikeout, Rawie hit a ball that landed in short center field, driving in Blythe to make it 1-0 Bearcats.

– Allen led off the second with her third home run of the season, taking a pitch out over the left center field fence. Two batters later, Moses legged out an infield single and Blythe drew a walk. With two down in the inning, Maher crushed a ball over the left field fence for her fifth home run of the season, making it 5-0 Bearcats.

– For the third straight inning, Northwest got its lead off batter on safely as Gilson hit a double to right field. Allen hit a grounder to third but a bad throw allowed her to reach second and Gilson came all the way around to score on the error to make it 6-0.

– In the sixth, Adams hit her sixth home run of the season to lead off the frame to put Northwest up, 7-1.

– Baderdeen started the seventh with a double to left center and Moses reached on an error by the shortstop. Blythe drew a walk to load the bases. Weis came through with a bases-clearing double to right center, making it a 10-1 Bearcat advantage. Pittsburg State made a pitching change but Northwest got back-to-back RBI doubles from Maher and Adams to move the lead to 12-1.

Up Next
– Northwest will face Central Oklahoma on Friday at 2 p.m. at the ASA Hall of Fame Field.

— Northwest Athletics —