EPHRAIM, Utah (April 19, 2019) -- The Snow College women's softball team opened a four-game series over Southern Idaho with 10-6 and 4-3 wins over the Golden Eagles on Friday. In the opener, Snow took the lead for good in the back-and-forth game with six runs in the bottom of the fifth for a 10-6 win. The Badgers never trailed in the day's second game as they held on for a 4-3 win despite a three-run rally by the Eagles in the top of the seventh.

Friday's opener featured four lead changes and a display of power by both teams with a total of seven homeruns sailing out of normally spacious Badger Field. The game's big blow came in the bottom of the fifth as Badger third baseman Brooke Brown smacked a grand slam to straight away center to cap off the Snow rally after CSI had regained the lead, 5-4, with two runs of their own in the top half of the inning. Brown's blast was her third hit of the game as she finished with five runs batted in.

Abby Barnes began the scoring for Snow by leading off the bottom of the first with a homer to left after Kalena Shepherd had staked the Eagles to a two-run lead with a homerun in the top of the inning. Shepherd and her teammate Hannah Peterson would each finish the game with a pair of round-trippers as they drive in all six Eagles runs with long balls.

Snow's Alexis Poulsen won in the circle for Snow to up her season record to 9-5. Poulsen helped herself with three hits at the plate and three RBI, including a two-run dinger in the second to give the Badgers their first lead of the game at 3-2.

The second game was a real contrast from the opener's homerun contest as CSI's Hadlie Henderson and Snow freshman Cayla Giles matched up in a tense pitchers' duel. The Badgers finally scored the game's first run in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Bailie Singleton doubled and then later scored unearned as she advanced to third on a wild pitch and scampered home on a throwing error.

The game remained 1-0 until the Badgers got some breathing room in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three more runs. Sophomore Autumn Dzierzon delivered the big blow with a single to right to drive in Kloie Park and Avery Reynolds after the Badgers had loaded the bases with no outs. Singleton then brought in what would prove to be the game winner on an infield single which scored Avery Shields from third.

CSI made it close in the top of the seventh as Nikki Zielinski drove in a run with a single to left, and then scored herself on a two-out homer by Kylie Baumert to make the score 4-3. But Giles came right back to strike out Shepherd to slam the door shut on the Eagle comeback bid. Giles scattered nine hits while walking only one and striking out five to earn her sixth win of the season.

The teams face off with another doubleheader on Saturday to wrap up the series.