BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Christian University softball team hit six home runs during the doubleheader against NCAA Division I Southern University, four of which came off the bat of Olivia Coaker, as the Wildcats earned a split with the Jaguars, taking game one 6-5 before dropping game two 8-6 Friday night at Southern's Lady Jaguar Field.
 
Game 1 – Louisiana Christian 6, Southern 5
 
Coaker's home run parade got started in the top of the second inning of game one as she opened the scoring with a two-run shot to left that scored Desiree Squires to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead after two innings. Brooke Ross helped her own cause in the third inning, hitting a solo home run to left-center for a 3-0 LCU lead as the Wildcats took the field for the bottom of the frame.
 
Southern rallied a bit in the bottom half of the third as a sacrifice fly and a RBI single cut the Wildcat lead to 3-2.
 
LCU got a trio of key insurance runs in the fifth inning. Emma Hunt led off the inning with a base hit to center, stole second, and then was knocked in by a RBI double by Jordan Dauthier. Dauthier and Lexie Marks, who pinch ran for Brooke Ross following a walk, moved up on a passed ball, and then both came home on Bella Houck's RBI single through the right side of the infield to give the Wildcats a 6-2 lead after five complete.
 
But Southern made a run at stealing the game in the sixth inning as a two-RBI triple brought the tying run to the plate with one out. Following a pitching change, a RBI ground out made it a one-run game, but the Wildcats were eventually able to get out of the inning with the lead at 6-5. After the Wildcats went scoreless in the seventh, an error and a walk put runners on first and second with no outs but Miah Broussard was able to work around it with a strikeout and two ground balls to retire the side and secure the Wildcat win.
 
Bella Houck went three-for-four with two RBI. Olivia Coaker's two run home run was her first of the season, and would not be her last on the day, while also drawing a walk. Brooke Ross also hit her first home run of the season, a solo shot that accounted for her lone RBI and run scored in the game and drew a pair of walks. Jordan Dauthier's lone hit of the contest was a double and knocked in a run.
 
Brooke Ross (1-2) threw 5.1 innings, allowing four hits and five runs, all earned, walked four and struck out three. Miah Broussard came on with one out in the sixth inning and the tying run at the plate, and she gave up no runs and no hits, walked one and struck out one over the final 1.2 innings to pick up her first save of the season.
 
Game 2 – Louisiana Christian 6, Southern 8
 
LCU found itself down early in the second game as early errors exacerbated three Jaguar first inning hits, allowing in three runs to give Southern a 3-0 lead after one inning.
 
After a scoreless second inning, Olivia Coaker got one of those runs back as she homered to straight away center field to make it 3-1.
 
But another mistake proved costly in the fourth inning. A dropped fly with the bases loaded allowed the Jaguars to clear the bases. With the inning extended, a RBI single later made the score 7-1 Southern after four complete.
 
Coaker's bat looked to get the Wildcats back in the game. With runners on second and third, Coaker took a pitch again straight over the center field wall for a three-run blast to pull LCU back within three at 7-4.
 
Southern added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth which proved vital as Olivia Coaker led off the seventh inning by squaring up another pitch and sent it again over the center field wall for a solo shot to make it 8-5. Jaclyn Deason tried to start a two-out rally as she homered as well to center. But a rally was not to come as a ground ball ended the game with no further threat.
 
Olivia Coaker went three-for-three in game two, hitting her second, third, and fourth home runs of the day and season in the contest, knocking in five runs on her three homers in the contest. Jaclyn Deason hit her first home run of the season in the seventh inning. Bella Houck went one-for-four with a double.
 
Bailey McMillian (2-1) threw the first four innings and gave up seven hits and four runs, three earned, walked three and struck out two. Addison Greak came on in the sixth and gave up two hits and one run, which was earned, and walked one.
 
The Wildcats (7-3, 0-0 RRAC) are back on the field in a week's time to open Red River Athletic Conference play for the first time when Texas College comes to town. First pitch of the doubleheader against the Steers (0-0, 0-0 RRAC) on February 26^th is set for 1:00 P.M. at Wildcat Park.