SMSU VS. CAL BOX SCORE
SMSU VS. IUP BOX SCORE

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Southwest Minnesota State softball team split a pair of games Tuesday morning at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla., defeating No. 15 California (Pa.) 5-4 and falling to Indiana (Pa.) 1-0.

SMSU moves to 5-5 with the split.

Krista Steen finished 3 for 3 with an RBI for the Mustangs against CU, which drops to 3-4.  Christine Borowiak went 1 for 3 with three RBIs, including hitting a 2-run homer in the fifth inning to give SMSU a 5-0 lead.

Cortney Heim went 5.0 innings and fanned three batters to pick up her third win of the season. Ali Honken notched her first save of the year, working 1.2 innings and striking out three.

The Mustangs scored the games first runs in the third inning after Andrea Fennern singled and eventually scored after CU catcher Alyson Johnson overthrew first base after Meaghan Laetsch laid down a bunt.  Laetsch would advance to third base after a pair of illegal pitches and was quickly driven in by Borowiak.  Kristin Braden then walked and was pushed home off a Steen double.

Sporting a 3-0 lead, Borowiak added two runs to the Mustang advantage by sending her first pitch in the fifth inning deep over right center.

Three hits--including a two-run homer--from CU in the top of the sixth accounted for four runs and a one-run affair.  But a pair of strikeouts from Honken in the top of the seventh held off the Vulcan surge and allowed SMSU to sneak out the 5-4 victory.

Part of two of Tuesday's saw little offense.  The Mustangs managed just two hits, while IUP collected only four.

The game's lone run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when IUP's Kelsey Ferguson nailed a solo home run to break the 0-0 tie.

Honken suffered the loss on the mound for SMSU.  She falls to 2-3 on the season.

SMSU will now take tomorrow off before playing Urbana (Ohio) and Tiffin (Ohio) on Thursday.