The University of Illinois Springfield softball team split with conference rival Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, Mo. The Prairie Stars won the opener 7-3, but fell in game two by a 3-1 margin.
 
In the first game, a five-run third inning by UIS was the difference. Lindsay LaDere sparked the rally with a double to lead off the inning. Two walks loaded the bases, and then two runners scored on a throwing error. Danielle Dennis then had the big hit with a three-run homer that put UIS up by a four-run margin that it would not give away.
 
Reagan Miles earned the win on the mound. Evey Evans and Kayana Diederich each pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Addison Bryant earned the save by getting the final out with the bases loaded in the seventh.
 
Offensively, Klinzing finished the game with three hits, and Dennis and LaDere each had two. Natalie Cokel scored twice in the game, and Carolyn Franke and LaDere each had one run and one RBI.
 
In the second game, UIS allowed just four hits, but a pair of extra base hits by Missouri-St. Louis helped it score its three runs. UIS had six hits in the game, and stranded seven. Klinzing's single in the fourth scored Calla Wickenhauser with the team's lone run.
 
Evans was the top pitcher in the relief, going 2 1/3 innings and allowing no runs and one hit.
 
UIS ends the week with a 6-14 overall record and a 1-3 conference mark. The Prairie Stars are in action again on Saturday with a home doubleheader against McKendree.