ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Missouri Western softball (30-19) continues its impressive run with a ninth consecutive victory, following a doubleheader sweep against Missouri-St. Louis (17-24) at the UMSL Softball Field on Tuesday. The Griffons won the first game of the non-conference series 3-0 and completed the sweep with a 5-3 win in the second game.
 
GAME ONE: MWSU 3, UMSL 0
Sydney Rader (19-9) delivered an impressive performance in a low-scoring game against the Tritons. The senior from Norfolk, Nebraska, allowed only three hits and issued just two walks to the 25 batters she faced. She also boosted her season strikeout total to 167 with nine strikeouts in her 24th complete game of the season.
 
Western scored its first run in the fourth inning after a sacrifice bunt by Mackenzie DeVine, which was followed by a throwing error from UMSL that allowed Kalee Higdon, who had previously hit a double in the same inning, to score the second run. Jones added insurance in the fifth with an RBI single that drove in Sienna Reed.
 
Rader sealed the shutout victory for the Griffons with three strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
GAME TWO: MWSU 5, UMSL 3
Missouri Western started strong in the second game, quickly taking an early 3-0 lead, highlighted by Sienna Reed's first home run of the season—a two-run shot to left-center field.
 
Harley Pruetting (8-5) delivered an impressive performance in her 23rd appearance and 17th start of the 2025 season. The right-handed junior allowed just one earned run over 6.0 innings, striking out a game-high seven batters while issuing only one walk.
 
In the fourth inning, the Griffons extended their lead to four runs with a 2-RBI double from Higdon, who was the only player to achieve a multi-hit game. The Tritons narrowed the gap back to two runs in the next inning due to a fielding error and a wild pitch.
 
Ashlyn Finarty (2) notched her second save of the season after a scoreless seventh inning, which included a pivotal 4-6-3 double play.
 
UP NEXT
Griffon softball will conclude the regular season on Saturday for Senior Day against Northwest Missouri State. The doubleheader at the Spring Sports Complex will begin at noon, with the second game starting approximately 30 minutes later.