The Mary Baldwin softball team started hot, winning the opening game of Thursday's doubleheader at Eastern Mennonite by a 7-1 margin.  But EMU rallied in the last few innings of the nightcap to secure a 5-4 victory and a split in the doubleheader against the Fighting Squirrels.  MBU is now 4-6 overall and has split four consecutive doubleheaders.

In the opener, MBU scored two runs in the third inning and four times in the fifth inning on the way to a 7-1 victory.  McKenzie Tillman had an RBI hit in both the third and fifth innings while Allison Crum and Leanna Rankin both contributed an RBI double in the fifth.  Tillman led the way with a 4-for-4 performance while Rankin was 3-for-5 in the opener.

Starting pitcher Emily McCreary allowed an unearned run to get her first win of the season while Reagan Frazier threw the last three innings to get the save.  The tandem limited the host Royals to five hits and two walks in the seven frames.

In the nightcap, MBU erased an early 2-0 EMU lead with three runs in the second and one in the third for a 4-2 advantage.  But the hosts posted single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings to rally for the win.  

Rankin doubled in two runs to spark the second inning and Crum doubled home another score in the third for the 4-2 lead.  Crum, Frazier and Hadley May each contributed twice to MBU's 11-hit attack, but the visitors left seven runners on base during the game, including five innings with a runner on second or third.

The Fighting Squirrels will try to break the doubleheader split streak Sunday with a non-conference clash at Bridgewater, beginning at 1 p.m.