After throwing out the potential tying run with two outs in the seventh inning of game one, the Central Methodist University softball team shut out Missouri Valley College in game two to sweep the doubleheader. The Lady Eagles held on for a 3-2 win in game one, before earning an 8-0 win in five innings in game two Saturday afternoon.

In game one, sophomore Erika Reinagel (Kelso, Mo.) and sophomore Jordyn Tolliver (Centralia, Mo.) hit singles and moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Senior Stephanie Sullivant (Liberty, Mo.) followed with a double down the left-field line to give CMU a 2-0 lead in the first inning. In the second inning, junior Rebecca Lipsey (New Hartford, Mo.) hit a lead-off double and freshman Briana Ford (Branson, Mo.) followed with a single to extend CMU's lead to 3-0. In the top of the third inning, Missouri Valley scored a run to cut the lead to 3-1, and the Vikings made the score 3-2 in the top of the fifth. In the top of the seventh inning, Missouri Valley got a runner in scoring position with two outs. The Vikings hit a single to right field, but junior Kelsey Johnley (Troy, Mo.) threw the ball home and Lipsey tagged the base runner near home plate to end the game and seal the win for Central Methodist. Freshman Aubrey Utley (Trenton, Mo.) earned the win for the Lady Eagles, allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out four, in her 13th complete game of the season.

The Lady Eagles scored six runs on eight hits in the first inning of game one as 12 batters came to the plate. Reinagel and Johnley hit back-to-back singles to start the inning, and Tolliver and Sullivant followed with back-to-back RBI doubles. Senior Danielle Taylor (Milan, Mo.) hit a two-RBI single to make the score 4-0 with no outs. Junior Kayla Yount (Olathe, Kan.) followed with a single. Freshman Mary Kate Townley (O'Fallon, Mo.) hit a two-out single to load the bases, and Reinagle hit her second single of the inning to score Taylor. Johnley drew a walk to score Yount and give the Lady Eagles a 6-0 lead before the inning ended. CMU managed just one hit in the next three innings as the score remained 6-0. In the bottom of the fifth inning Yount hit a one-out single, and Lipsey and sophomore Holly Adams (Arnold, Mo.) drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Freshman Melanie Wilmsmeyer (Franklin, Mo.) singled to shallow center to make the score 7-0. After Missouri Valley dropped a foul fly ball, Reinagel hit a sacrifice fly to left field to end the game for CMU with the 8-0 win in five innings. Taylor picked up the win, allowing just one hit while striking out six in five innings of work.

Central Methodist improved to 22-10 overall and 7-3 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with the sweep. Missouri Valley fell to 6-15 on the season and 1-5 in the HAAC. The Lady Eagles will be back in action Sunday in a doubleheader at Graceland University beginning at 1 p.m. in Lamoni, Iowa.