BENTONVILLE, Ar — A split day of ups and downs ended with a clutch-character-building win to end a four-game skid and close out the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.

Game 1

Griffon Softball fell 6-2 to Arkansas Monticello to open Sunday's slate up. It's MWSU's third-straight loss vs. the Weevils. Their last win came on Feb. 8, 2021 in a 4-1 victory.

Game 2

The second match on Sunday looked like another loss was sealed for Missouri Western before they defeated William Jewell University 6-5. This four-game losing streak was the longest since last year's two different stretches of losses. The Griffons were down 5-0 going into the top of the sixth when their trio of H's started hammering away at the deficit. 

Junior Sydni Hawkins shifted the offense in gear with a one-out single with leadoff hitter senior Kalyn Damgaard on deck. She walked on four pitches, setting up fellow senior Emma Hoffart with a runner in scoring position. Instead, she plated everyone on the diamond with a three-run home run to make it 5-3. 

After back-to-back walks by sophomore Si Culver and senior Rachel Stewart, the late-game heroics continued when senior Taylor Hoelscher stepped up to the plate. On an 0-1 count, she hacked a two-run double to tie the game at 5-5, giving her Griffons a chance to salvage one win in Bentonville.

After a leadoff walk by sophomore Kylie DeHook, Hoffart made sure that was the case in the seventh with a go-ahead RBI single to put MWSU ahead 6-5. Hoffart finished with four RBI with all of them coming in the final two innings.

Next Up

The Griffons get two weeks off from competition until their opening day against Northwestern College (6-0) on Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. at the Spring Sports Complex in St. Joseph, Missouri.