(Peru, Neb.) – In their final non-conference action of the year, the Peru State Bobcat softball team split a double header with Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) in Lincoln on Wednesday.
 
The Prairie Wolves handily won the first game 11-3 in five innings while the 'Cats came back to take the nightcap 8-5.
 
With the split, the Bobcats are now 13-23 on the season.  NWU is 12-15.
 
Game One Action
 
Peru State scored two runs in the first inning to take an early 2-0 lead.  However, the Prairie Wolves countered with three in the bottom of the first to go on top 3-2.
 
After a scoreless second inning, the 'Cats tied it in the top of the third inning at 3-3.  In the bottom of the same inning, Nebraska Wesleyan was able to put another three runs on the board to take a 6-3 advantage.
 
Peru State could not score in the top of the fourth, but the Prairie Wolves added five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take an 11-3 lead.  The Bobcats would not add any runs in the top of the fifth, so NWU won by the eight-run rule after five innings.
 
The Bobcats scored their three runs on just four hits and committed four errors.  NWU scored their 11 runs on 11 hits and committed three errors.
 
Kristen Bodyk (Paris, Ontario, Canada) had one hit, but two RBI which came off a home run, to lead Peru State's efforts.  Toni Moffatt (Morden, Alberta, Canada), Abbie Moser (Lincoln), and Casee Ford (Fort Collins, Colo.) each added a hit in the loss.
 
Lauren Johnson (Seward) took the loss.  Johnson pitched four innings, giving up 11 hits, 11 runs – seven earned, and struck out two.

GAME ONE BOX SCORE
 
Game Two Action
 
The second game was much different for Peru State as they got their bats going and held NWU without a run until the fifth inning.
 
The Bobcats scored two runs in the second, three in the third, and one in the fifth to lead 6-0 going into the bottom of the fifth.  The Prairie Wolves managed to score one run to cut the lead to 6-1 after five complete innings.
 
Peru State would add two runs in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to 8-1.  NWU would not score in the sixth and the 'Cats would not score in the top of the seventh.  But, in the bottom of the seventh, the Prairie Wolves tried to make a game of it, but the Bobcats stopped the rally and held on to win 8-5.
 
The 'Cats scored their eight runs on 13 hits and one had one error.  NWU scored their five runs on seven hits and had two miscues.
 
Bodyk again led the Bobcat batters going three of four with one double and one RBI.  Emily Maresh (Central City) was two of three with one RBI – that coming on a solo home run.  Moser and Miranda Lyndes (Peyton, Colo.) also had two hits and one RBI apiece.   One of Lyndes' hits was a double while Moser stole two bases.
 
Devon Massengale (Elkhorn) earned the win after throwing six and one-third innings.  Massengale gave up seven hits, five earned runs, and struck out four while earning her fifth win of the season. Trista Hutchings (Cambridge, Ontario, Canada) earned a save as she threw two-thirds of an inning to stop the Wesleyan rally.

GAME TWO BOX SCORE
 
Career Updates
 
Massengale's five wins this year have moved her into fifth on the all-time Bobcat career victory chart with 34.  Massengale moved ahead of Hall of Fame candidate Rhonda Wright, who had won 31 while pitching from 1978-81.  In the career strikeout leader board, Massengale is inching closer to second as she now has 252, trailing only Hall of Fame member Erin (O'Grady) Sayer and Tabitha Foster.  Massengale has also moved into sixth in career complete games with 36, moving ahead of Foster in that category.  In career innings pitched, Massengale is now fourth with 406 innings, moving ahead of Jennifer Slattery, Wright, and Kristi Deleeuw this season. 
 
For Maresh, her third home run of the season places her within one of tying for fourth in career home runs as she now stands with 19.  Her 22 RBI for the season has moved her into eighth with 104, just one shy of seventh.  Maresh moved ahead of Brittany Fry, Jill Madsen, and DeLeeuw in the Top Ten. 
 
Bodyk hit her sixth home run of the season, which ties her for tenth in a single season, along with three others – Fry, Alyssa Mangum, and Ashley Wohlers.   It was her 13^th career home run and that moved her into seventh on her own, going ahead of Jen Siedlik.
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State finishes the season with a pair of Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) double headers.  The results of the four games will determine the Bobcats' final seeding in the upcoming HAAC post-season tournament.  The 'Cats are assured of a berth and could be as high as the fourth seed or as low as the eighth seed as the middle of the HAAC is very bunched going into the final weekend.
 
On Friday, the Bobcats will host their final home games of the season as the Vikings of Missouri Valley College visit Peru State.  The pair of games are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Centennial Complex Field.
 
Then, on Saturday, Peru State will finish its regular-season action as they travel to MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) in Olathe, Kan., for a double header scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
 
Presently, the Vikings are seventh in the HAAC with a 6-8 record while the Pioneers of MNU will either be the second or third seed in the tournament as they currently are 12-4 in conference action.
 
The post-season tournament will be double elimination and is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4 at the Blue Valley Rec Complex in Overland Park, Kan.