[Softball] Mustangs sweep Queen Bees, clinch fourth seed

MARION, Iowa -- Mount Mercy outscored St. Ambrose, 13-1, in a doubleheader sweep of the Queen Bees that clinched the fourth seed for the Mustangs in this weekend's Midwest Collegiate Conference Softball Tournament.

Mount Mercy dominated the opener, getting a three-run homer by junior right fielder Mariah Early and a two-run single from freshman shortstop Kerry Herlihy during an eight-run second inning as the Mustangs beat the Queen Bees, 9-0, in five innings.

Junior third baseman Jessica Magnuson went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs batted in and junior first baseman Liz Hill finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Junior right-hander Paige Lager (13-10) tossed her third shutout of the season, scattering seven hits and six strikeouts over five innings.

Herlihy came through with another big hit in the nightcap, driving in two runs with a base hit during a three-run fourth inning as the Mustangs went on to win, 4-1. Junior second baseman Rosie Jones and sophomore right fielder Brooklyn Schrader had two hits apiece and Magnuson hit her 13th home run of the year. Early (7-11) threw a complete-game five-hitter, allowing just an unearned run while striking out five.

Third-seeded Waldorf (22-16, 14-8 MCC) will host one of three double-elimination, opening round pods in this weekend's MCC Tournament. Fourth-seeded Mount Mercy (22-22, 12-10 MCC) takes on seventh-seeded Iowa Wesleyan (12-32, 8-13 MCC) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Forest City High School in Forest City.

The winner faces Waldorf on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. The losers of Saturday's games square off on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., with the survivor playing Saturday's game two winner at 1:30 p.m. Another elimination game will follow, if necessary.

Top-seeded William Penn (34-14, 15-6 MCC) and second-seeded Grand View (20-25, 15-7 MCC) host the other two opening round pods. Sixth-seeded Ashford (10-20, 9-13 MCC) and ninth-seeded Clarke (14-24, 7-15 MCC) join the Lady Statesmen in Oskaloosa, while fifth-seeded Viterbo (Wis.) (17-17, 11-11 MCC) and eighth-seeded St. Ambrose (10-27, 7-15 MCC) travel to Des Moines.