MISHAWAKA, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) softball team traveled to Bethel University to open Crossroads League on Wednesday, March 12. 

The Cougars and Pilots split Wednesday night's doubleheader, with Bethel escaping game one by a final score of 5-4. USF held Bethel scoreless in game two, earning a dominating 11-0 victory. 

BETHEL 5, SAINT FRANCIS 4

• The Pilots got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning. 
• Bethel scored three more runs in the third inning to take the 4-0 lead. 
• Macie Dowd homered to left field to cut Bethel's lead to 4-1 in the top of the fourth inning. 
• Bethel answered with a home run of their own to make it 5-1 
• An RBI single through the left side from left fielder Lillian Pierce started a seventh-inning rally for the Cougars. Sam Baker and Paiton Iliff followed with RBI singles to cut the Pilots' lead to one run. USF's rally would fall short as Bethel won game one by a final score of 5-4. 
• The Cougars had six hits and three walks. Dowd went 2-4 at the plate with a double and a home run. Brooklyn McCord also had an extra-base hit.
• Mady Tompkins took the loss in the circle. The junior right-handed pitcher struck a batter and scattered six hits in 3.2 innings of work. 
• Kennedy Baioni held Bethel to one hit while collecting a strikeout in 2.1 innings of relief. 

SAINT FRANCIS 11, BETHEL 0

• After two scoreless innings to start game two, the Cougars took an early 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single to center field from Dowd. 
• Dowd had another hit in the top of the fifth inning to score Baker and extend USF's lead to 2-0. 
• Haylee Schott followed with a single to right field to score two more runs in the fifth inning and make it 4-0 in favor of USF.
• With one out and runners on first and second, catcher Iliff stepped into the box and hit a home run to push the Cougars' lead to 7-0 in the top of the sixth inning. 
• In the same inning, USF capitalized on an error by the Pilots to plate another run and bring the score to 8-0. 
• Pierce brought in a run in the sixth inning, followed by Madyson Minnich scoring on a passed ball to make it an 11-run game. 
• Saint Francis held Bethel scoreless in the bottom of the sixth to secure the 11-0 run-rule win. 
• Alexa Huth and Ellie Sauder kept the Pilots scoreless by allowing Bethel only six hits and issuing just one walk between the two pitchers.
• Huth, the Cougars' starting pitcher, got her third win of the season, striking out four of the 18 batters she faced in four innings. 

Up next, USF softball (8-4, 1-1) will host Grace College for a Crossroads League doubleheader on Friday, March 14. First pitch for the Cougars' home opener is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Westendorf Field.

Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.