FULTON, Mo. — The Mississippi University for Women softball team is into the semifinal round of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament after defeating Westminster College 8-2 on Tuesday. It’s the first quarterfinal win for the program after joining the conference in 2023, setting up a meeting with No. 2 seed Greenville University.
The Owls, now 24-15 on the season, entered the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed, narrowly missing out on a first-round bye. In her second year as head coach, Rebecca Oldham has helped the team improve from 7-9 last year to 13-5 in conference play this year. Now, the program has its first postseason win since joining the NCAA Division III ranks.
The W broke the deadlock in the second inning with a two-run double from third baseman Chloe McClain, followed by a home run from Brooklyn Rhodes in the third inning. Westminster pulled one run back, but a flurry of runs came for the Owls in the bottom half of the fifth as McClain and Anna Sandlin added one run each on top of Ashton Farnell’s three-run double.
In the circle, pitcher Avery Byerley went the distance with just two earned runs in seven innings of work. She allowed six hits while striking out three and walking no one in an efficient outing to pick up her eighth win of the season.
The W split its last meeting with Greenville, losing 2-0 in Game 1 and winning 6-4 in Game 2 of a home doubleheader in April. The teams will meet again today at 5:30 p.m. in Louisville, Ky.
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