On the team's first day down in Conway, Arkansas, Parkside softball dropped both games on Saturday, first to Fort Hays State 7-3 then to Washburn 7-1. Kellie Fenza had a huge day, finishing 6-for-7 with three stolen bases, two runs and a double. The Rangers will face Northwest Missouri State to start Sunday, then face Nebraska-Kearney later in the day.
 
GAME 1: Fort Hays State 7, Parkside 3
In game one, Parkside used a late rally to tie it up in the bottom of the seventh inning at 3-3, but Fort Hays State got hot in the top of the eighth scoring four runs after the international tiebreaker rule was applied (placing a runner on second to start the inning). Fenza went 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base and drove in the game-tying run in the seventh.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rangers struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the second off a Megan Aliverti RBI single. The Tigers tied it up at 1-1 with a run in the top of the third, but the Rangers grabbed the lead right back in their half of the third, scoring a run on a Morgan Sikon RBI single, which brought in Cassie Walek.
 
The Tigers tied it up at 2-2 in the fourth and took the lead in the sixth, making it a 3-2 ball game. The Rangers saw clutch hitting from Jessica Crull to lead off the seventh, putting the tying run aboard. Fenza brought in Jessica Miklos later in the inning to tie it up, but the Tigers big eighth inning was too much to come back from.
 
BOX SCORE
Fenza went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, a double and an RBI while Sikon finished 1-for-4 with an RBI. Aliverti finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and Adrien Hall and Morgan Moore each had hits.
 
Allison Hausl started the game, finishing with a no decision. Alyssa Hrncar pitched the final 2.0 innings and suffered the loss.
 
GAME 2:
Washburn went up 2-0 early and added on to the lead with a four-run sixth inning to take the second game of the day from the Rangers. Fenza again had a nice game for Parkside, going 4-for-4 with two stolen bases.
 
WHAT HAPPENED
After Washburn went up 2-0 after the first 2.0 innings, Parkside tallied a run in the bottom of the third as Walek drilled a single to the right fielder, who misplayed it, allowing Fenza to score from first base and making it 2-1 Washburn.
 
STATWORTHY
Fenza went 4-for-4 with a run and two stolen bases as the Rangers finished with 10 hits as a team. Crull went 2-for-3 and Walek went 2-for-4 while Hall went 1-for-1 on a pinch hit. Moore also tallied another hit.

Kiley Akey pitched her second complete game of the season, finishing with three strikeouts while allowing six earned runs.