SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Truman softball team played games No. three and four of an eight-game road swing on Sunday with another doubleheader in the Land of Lincoln, this time at Illinois Springfield. The Prairie Stars took game one by a score of 5-4 before the Bulldogs won the nightcap, 5-3, to salvage a split.

Truman's overall record is now at 21-13 with a mark of 4-4 in the GLVC while Illinois Springfield sits at 16-15 on the season and 4-4 in league play. For the twinbill, the Bulldogs were led by a pair of three-hit performances including Valerie Schmidt (3-for-6) and Christa Reisinger (3-for-9) while Riley Cook (2-for-6), Alyssa Rivera (2-for-7) and Morgan McMahan (2-for-7) each notched two hits of their own.

In game one, the home team scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning and held its 4-0 advantage over the visitors until the top of the sixth. That half inning, with runners on first and second and two outs, Lex Van Nostrand went deep to center with her fourth home run of the season while bringing in RBI No. 22, 23 and 24. Illinois Springfield tacked on an insurance run in the home half of the sixth before Truman got it back in the seventh on a Kadie Orenstein RBI single to the shortstop. However, that's where the score would stay as the Bulldogs lost a game by one run for the fourth time this year.

Nicolette Simpson (10-5) took the loss with six innings pitched, five earned runs given up on nine hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. That marks the first time the junior transfer has taken a loss since Feb. 26 against Saginaw Valley State 19 games ago.

In the nightcap, Truman trailed first again, this time 2-0 through two innings. In the top of the third, though, Reisinger brought in a run with an RBI groundout to the second baseman and Rivera tied things up at 2-2 when she singled in Orenstein. The score would stay knotted up for four more innings until the top of the eighth when the Bulldogs hung a three spot on the scoreboard. That inning, McMahan pushed across Jamie Fowle with a bunt single, Sydney Scherzinger hit an RBI double and Reisiner reached on an error by the shortstop, which allowed Orenstein to touch home.

In the circle, Lauren Dale (10-5) was the winner with seven and two-thirds innings pitched, three earned runs surrendered on 14 hits, no free passes, and five punchouts. In relief, Alyssa Hajduk earned her sixth save of the season with a groundout for the final out of the day.

Next up, Truman is at Drury for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 1 with first pitch in game one set for 12 p.m.

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