EMPORIA, Kansas – The Northwest Missouri State University softball team split a pair of games Friday to kick off the 5-States Classic. The Bearcats fell to Maryville 6-3 then snapped their eight-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over Minnesota Duluth.Game 1 vs. Maryville - L, 6-3Sydne Brashear put the Bearcats on the board in the top of the third inning with an RBI double to left center.Maryville answered scoring two runs in the bottom of the third inning and another run in the fourth inning to grab a 3-1 lead over Northwest.In the top of the fifth inning, Olivia Daugherty doubled down the right field line putting the Bearcats in scoring position. Next at bat, Brashear grounded out to second base but brought in Jacee Winn to score to cut the lead to 3-2.Maryville scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and another run in the bottom of the sixth inning to go up 6-2 over the Bearcats.In the top of the seventh inning, Daugherty homered to left field to cut the lead to 6-3. However, the seventh inning efforts weren't enough to catch back up to Maryville's lead.Game 2 vs. Minnesota Duluth - W, 2-1 Sydne Brashear and Kaitlyn Weis provided the offense with a pair of first inning solo homers and Rachel Smith took care of business in the circle.Smith tossed a one-hitter and recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts against Duluth. She took a no-hitter in the sixth inning before Duluth was able to manage a one-out single to center.The Bearcats gave up a run in the top of the sixth, but were able to come away with the 2-1 win. The victory snapped Northwest's eight-game losing streak.Northwest moves to 3-8 overall and will continue to compete in the 5-States Classic Saturday with games against Concordia-St. Paul and Wayne State.NOTES: Brashear leads the team in batting average with a .457. She has two doubles and seven RBI. Daugherty isn't far behind with a .417 batting average, five doubles and six RBI. Weis is slugging a .314 average with three doubles and five RBI. Brashear, Weis and Daugherty all have two home runs each on the season. Northwest previously faced Concordia-St. Paul in the Minnesota State D-II Softball Classic where they split a pair of games with the Golden Bears.--- Northwest Athletics ---

Northwest softball splits a pair of games Friday at ESU Tourney