East Peoria, Ill. – After dropping the opening game of the 2019 Great Lakes Valley Conference Softball Tournament to Illinois Springfield, Maryville staved off elimination in the second game by working extra-innings to defeat Lewis. The fourth-seeded Saints fell in the opening round of the tournament to the No. 5 Prairie Stars 4-1 but bounced back in the second game with three runs in the eighth inning to eliminate the No. 8 Flyers 7-5. 
 
Opening Round vs No. 5 Illinois Springfield:
The Prairie Stars jumped out to an early lead with two runs on three hits in the first inning. The Saints bounced back in the bottom of the first as Hannah Tolley opened the inning with a single and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Bri Livingston. Tolley scored as Alyssa Callans laced a single through the right side to cut the deficit to 2-1. The scored remained that way until the top of the sixth when Illinois Springfield plated a pair of runs to extend the lead to 4-1. Maryville had a chance in the seventh with runners at first and second with one out, but the Prairie Stars forced two fly outs to claim the victory.
 
Winning Pitcher: Jaycee Craver (14-14) 
Save: None
Losing Pitcher: Olivia Jarvis (16-12)
Hitting leader: Callans – 2-for-3, RBI
                          Tolley – 2-for-4, run scored
 
Records:
Maryville – 32-18
UIS – 27-22
 
Elimination Game vs No. 8 Lewis:
The Saints fell behind in the first inning as the Flyers scored a run to grab a 1-0 lead. Maryville tied the game in the third as Livingston hit an RBI single to score Shaina Kmetz to make the score 1-1. After Lewis regained the lead in the fourth with a run, the Saints answered in the top of the fifth. Tolley pushed across a run with a single down the left field line to knot the contest at 2-2. Jaclyn Pasakarnis gave Maryville its first lead of the game with a two-run double to left field to put the Saints ahead 4-2. The Flyers forced extra innings in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of runs to once again tied the game at 4-4. Maryville took control of the elimination game in the eighth as Pasakarnis scored on a passed ball to give the Saints a 5-4 advantage. Samantha Hausl added to the lead with an RBI triple, and Kmetz laced her fourth hit of the game to score Taylor Shingler as it put Maryville on top 7-4. The Flyers cut into the lead in the bottom of the eighth with a run, but that is as close as they would get as Callans got a line out to second base to give the Saints the win.
 
Winning Pitcher: Callans (16-6) 
Save: None
Losing Pitcher: Dara Sanders (10-12)
Hitting leader:  Kmetz – 4-for-4, RBI, run scored
                          Pasakarnis – 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, run scored
                          Livingston – 2-for 4, RBI, run scored
                         
 
Records:
Maryville – 33-18
Lewis – 22-30
 
Up Next: 
The Saints continue play in the tournament Saturday morning as Maryville takes on No. 6 Truman State in an elimination game. If the Saints win, they will continue play at 3 p.m.