The University of Illinois Springfield softball team advanced to day two of the GLVC Championship Tournament after going 1-1 in Friday's action. The Prairie Stars defeated Maryville in the opener by a 4-1 score, but lost to Missouri-St. Louis by a 4-2 margin.
 
Jaycee Craver earned her second career GLVC Tournament win after pitching a great game against Maryville. She allowed three of the first four batters of the game to reach, but settled down after that. Craver didn't allow another run for the final six innings, and only gave up four more hits. Her final line was allowing six hits, one run, one walk, and one hit batter, and she struck out five.
 
UIS never trailed after scoring twice in the top of the first inning. Natalie Cokel led the game off with a triple, and Morgan Edwards also tripled two batters later. Ali Bortmess singled to score Edwards for the second run.

The score remained 2-1 until the sixth when the Prairie Stars struck for two more runs. Edwards and Bortmess both reached base to start the inning, and a Carolyn Franke single loaded the bases for Bree Derhake. Derhake hit a fly ball to left that was caught, but both Edwards and Bortmess scored on the sacrifice fly to make the game 4-1.
 
Maryville had one more rally left in the seventh with the tying run coming up to the plate with just one out. Craver got a weak pop up right back to her for the second out, and another pop out to the shortstop wrapped up the Prairie Stars win.
 
In game two, UIS grabbed an early 2-1 lead after solo homers by Cokel and Franke in the first two innings. Four hits in the third inning helped the Tritons take a 3-2 advantage.
 
UIS had 11 straight batters retired until Addison Bryant had a two-out single in the fifth. Two straight walked loaded the bases, but the Prairie Stars couldn't get a two-out hit to tie or take the lead. Missouri-St. Louis added an insurance run in the six, and UIS was retired in order for each of the final two innings.
 
Payton Long threw a complete game in the loss, striking out nine and allowing seven hits and one walk.
 
UIS will be in action again on Saturday at 11 a.m. Its opponent for the next round will not be determined until later today.