Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri State were eliminated on day one of the MIAA softball tournament and Missouri Southern clings to the loser’s bracket. Meanwhile, top seeded Missouri Western finds itself in the winner’s bracket with Nebraska-Omaha after the opening round of games in Overland Park, KS.

Game 1: (1) Missouri Western 3, (8) Washburn 1 Behind eight hits and a complete game effort from MIAA Freshman of the Year Jackie Bishop Missouri Western opened the MIAA Tournament with a 3-1 victory over Washburn. Bishop fanned nine batters, scattering five hits and giving up one earned run.

The Griffons had eight hits with Toni Dance and Ashley Hudson going 2-3, while the Lady Blues had five hits with Shelby Erickson going 2-3.

Game 2: (4) Missouri Southern 3, (5) Northwest Missouri 2 (9 innings) Missouri Southern used extra innings to defeat the fifth seed Northwest Missouri, 3-2 in the opening round. Jessica Brooks connected for a walk-off single through the left side of the infield to score Breanna Volkmann.

Brooks led the way offensively for the Lions going 4-of-5 at the dish with the game winning RBI. Northwest Missouri was led by Kit Daugherty, who was 2-of-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Game 3: (3) Nebraska Omaha 3, (6) Central Missouri 0 Nebraska Omaha defeated Central Missouri, 3-0, in the first round of the MIAA Softball Tournament on Friday. Sarah Elliott hit an RBI single to score Alli Hukill in the third inning, then Amber Lutmer connected on a two-run homer to right center for a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning.

Beth Haley improved to 20-3 on the year with a complete game, allowing just one hit and striking out 10.

Braylyn Bivens had the lone hit for Central Missouri.

Game 4: (7) Fort Hays State 9, (2) Emporia State 1 (5 innings) All-MIAA catcher Malinee Powell blasted a three-run home run over the left field fence in the top of the first inning to help propel Fort Hays State to a tournament opening victory.

Emporia State would get their only run in the bottom of the third on an RBI double from Andrea Piezuch to cut the deficit to 3-1. FHSU’s Taylor Nelson and Maddie Holub each had RBI singles in the fourth inning, and a grand slam from Danie Brinkmann put Fort Hays State ahead by the final margin of 9-1.

Game 5: (8) Washburn 4, (5) Northwest Missouri 0 (8 innings) A walk-off grand slam by Hilary Weatherford kept Washburn’s season alive in an elimination game against Northwest Missouri in the MIAA Tournament. The home run was Weatherford’s fourth of the season.

Washburn’s Danielle Fox (9-15) tossed a four-hit shutout and struck out a career-high 13 Northwest Missouri (25-20) batters in the game. Northwest Missouri was led by a solid outing from Morgan Brunmeier, who pitched seven shutout innings before giving up the grand slam.

Game 6: (2) Emporia State 1, (6) Central Missouri 0 Karley Schmelzer struck out five and allowed just two hits over seven innings as Emporia State scratched across one run on five hits to take the game over Central Missouri by a score of 1-0.

Andre Piezuch went two for three and drove in her second run of the day, and Kaitlin Martin was one for two and scored the lone Lady Hornet run. Central Missouri’s Lacey Dixon pitched six innings, allowing just one run on five hits.

Game 7: (1) Missouri Western 7, (4) Missouri Southern 6 Missouri Western erased a 6-0 deficit to defeat Missouri Southern, 7-6, on a two-run walkoff single by Keri Lorbert in the bottom of the seventh.

Jackie Bishop came on in relief to get the win and improve to 25-3 on the season. She also had 10 strikeouts and is now the MWSU single season record holder with 212 on the season. Missouri Southern had eight hits, with Breanna Volkmann going 4-4 with two runs scored.

Game 8: (3) Nebraska Omaha 4, (7) Fort Hays State 0 Nebraska Omaha won its second-round game on Friday to advance to the third round of the MIAA Softball Tournament after a 4-0 win over Fort Hays State at the Blue Valley Recreation Complex.

Lindsey Slocum pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just five hits and striking out 12, while Katelyn Hinton hit a two-run triple in the first inning and Lauren Larson added a two-run homer in the fifth inning for the final margin. Fort Hays State had five hits on the game.