ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Griffon Softball made it four straight victories with a pair of wins on day two of the Kelly Laas Invitational. The No. 16 Griffons received solid pitching and timely hitting to pick up two regional wins over NSIC competition.
 
Game 1: #16 MWSU 5, Southwest Minnesota State 0
Kailey Green went 3-3 with her second home run of the season and Shyanne Saladino was nearly perfect in the circle as the Griffons picked up their third win in a row.
 
Saladino allowed just two base runners, giving up a single in the second and walking the next to last batter of the game. She struck out four and moved to 2-2 on the season, dropping her season-ERA to 0.94. Green got things going for the Griffons in the second when she led off the inning with a home run to left field. Missouri Western scored its next four runs in the third. The first three batters reached on singles, with Paige Shifflett's driving in Morgan Rathmann with a single up the middle. Taylor Hamilton picked up an RBI one batter later on a ground out to short. Two batters later, Sydney Washington drove in two with a triple to right field. Seven Griffons reached in the inning with Shifflett, Green and Katie Klosterman also stealing bases in the third.
 
Green was 3-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. She was the only Griffon to collect more than one hit, but six of the starting nine collected a hit. Jen Bagley Trotter was also able to give her most of her starters a breather, clearing her bench and getting five reserves one at bat each.
 
Game 2: #16 MWSU 4, Concordia-St. Paul 1
Janie Smith pitched a gem of her own and Shelbie Atwell continued her hot streak at the plate as the Griffons won their fourth straight game.
 
Missouri Western got on the board unconventionally in the first when Atwell scored while Shifflett attempted to steal second base. Shifflett was thrown out but Atwell put the Griffons up 1-0. Smith surrendered an RBI double in the third that tied the game at 1. Then Klosterman led off the fourth with a double and came home when Megan Korgie singled to center in the next at bat. With one down in the inning, Rathmann singled, stole second and scored on a single by Atwell. In the sixth, Atwell picked up her second RBI single, driving in Rebekah Mueller with two down to give Smith a little more cushion.
 
Smith stuck out nine and allowed just the one earned run on five hits and no free bases. Atwell finished 3-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Rathmann, Klosterman and Korgie all went 2-3 as Missouri Western touched Concordia-St. Paul for 12 hits.
 
Missouri Western will look to continue the win streak on Sunday when the team faces No. 20 Augustana and host school St. Cloud State to close out the invitational.