ALLIANCE, Ohio— Mount Union's softball team split a doubleheader against Muskingum in Ohio Athletic Conference play on Sunday afternoon, winning game one 3-2 and falling in game two 2-1.

The Fighting Muskies (15-18, 10-7 OAC) would strike first in game one when Mattie Bailey hit a two-RBI single in the top of the second inning to take a 2-0 lead.

The Purple Raiders (24-12, 13-5 OAC) would cut into the lead in the following inning when junior Faith Reicosky (North Canton / Hoover) hit an RBI single that would score sophomore Kyndall Hahn (Garrettsville / James Garfield) to trim the lead to a run. Then, in the fourth inning, junior Kaitlyn Culver (Girard) hit a two-run homerun to center field to give Mount Union their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Muskingum wouldn't have an answer over the final three innings, as the Raiders would go on to win game one 3-2.

Junior Chloe Bird (Norton) got the start in the circle for Mount Union as she threw a complete game in the win, giving up just two runs, one earned on seven hits, and striking out four.

The Muskies would once again strike first in game two, scoring two runs in the fourth inning off RBIs from Elizabeth Wauford and Eliana Shaheen to take a 2-0 lead. The Raiders would answer with a run in the fifth inning when junior Sydney Mercer (Salem / West Branch) had a sacrifice RBI that scored Hahn, but that is as close as they would get as Muskingum would go on to take game two 2-1.

Freshman Daniella Vecchio (Monongahela, Pa. / Ringgold) got the start in the circle for Mount Union in game two and pitched a complete game, giving up just two runs on six hits and striking out two.

The Raiders will be back in action on Thursday, May 8, for the first round of the OAC Tournament, where they will take on Ohio Northern at Baldwin Wallace in Berea at a time to be determined.