Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (Huntsville, Ala.) – The Missouri S&T Lady Miner softball squad dropped a pair of games on the first day of the Alabama-Huntsville Charger Chillout Tournament falling to Delta State 8-4 in the opener then lost to North Alabama 1-0 in eight innings in Huntsville, Ala.

The Lady Miners (1-3) fell behind Delta State (8-2) 3-0 early giving up a single run in the first inning and two more in the fourth. S&T tied the game in the home half of the fifth on a three run homer by freshman Maggie Schroeder (Bonner Springs, Kan./Basehor-Linwood) with two outs to right center field. It had a chance to take the lead getting the next two runners on base but a groundout to first ended the inning.

It was unable to keep the game tied though as the Statesmen scored three times in the sixth inning to regain the lead with the big blow being a two run double to center field off the bat of Brittany Tillery. They were able to tack on a couple of insurance runs in the seventh for the final margin.

The Lady Miners had their chances but weren't able to come through with runners on base stranding 12 including seven in the first four innings.

Jen O'Hara went the distance for S&T allowing all eight runs, six earned, on 10 hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Schroeder and Coley Naughton (Alton, Ill./Alton) paced the offense getting two hits apiece and drove in all four runs.

The second game was a pitcher's duel between the Lady Miners Ashley Wallingford (Kahoka, Mo./Clark County ) and North Alabama's (3-2) Jennifer Sexton as each pitcher matched each other zero for zero through seven innings. S&T was able to muster only one hit in the contest off the bat of Krista Porterfield in the third inning.

The Lions had the game's best chance in the second inning loading the bases with one out but Wallingford got a ground ball right back to her which she threw home to Naughton for the second out then struck out the next hitter to end the inning. They mounted another challenge in the sixth putting runners at first and second but Naughton threw out the lead runner at third trying to steal then after a walk to the number five hitter, Wallingford got the next hitter to fly out to Emily Tucker (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) ending the threat.

Each side went in order in the seventh setting up the Lady Miners second game in the last three days that went to the international tiebreaker starting in the eighth. They started out with a runner at second but Kristen Drage (Morganfield, Ky./Union County ) was unable to move the runner over on a strikeout for the first out. Schroeder then grounded out to short moving the runner over to third but Kassi Deibert (Highland, Ill./Highland) was unable to get her home grounding out to short to end the inning.

In the home half of the eighth inning North Alabama was able to do what S&T couldn't moving the winning run over to third with a sacrifice to start the inning then got a single up the middle to win the game.

Wallingford was the tough luck loser allowing just the unearned run on five hits while striking out eight and walking just two in 7.1 innings of work to fall to 1-1.

The Lady Miners play two more games on Saturday taking on Georgia College and State beginning at 10 a.m., and then will take on Truman State right after that at 12 p.m.