The fifth-ranked Martin County West softball team split with Cleveland in a home doubleheader clash on top of the Valley division.
The Clippers rallied to win game one 9-2 over the Mavericks.
MCW jumped out to the 2-0 lead in the first after Rowan Faber lined a solo home run over the left field fence and Bailey Larson hit an RBI single to score Courtney Anderson.
Cleveland responded with four runs in the third before adding another pair in the fourth and a trio in the fifth.
Faber finished with a pair of hits and Lillie Schultz had one as well. Addy Wohlhuter walked aboard three times and Anderson walked twice. The Mavericks stranded 12 runners on base.
Maddie Carlson took the loss after allowing nine runs with eight of them earned on 14 hits. She also tossed eight strikeouts and a pair of walks in five innings. Rowan Faber had two strikeouts and one walk in two relief innings.
MCW bounced back to win the second game 8-2 over Cleveland.
The Mavericks loaded the bases to begin a six-run frenzy in the third after some sprinkles gave way to a spectacular evening. Faber scored on a wild pitch. Carlson drove in Anderson and Schultz with a single. Ida Rohman brought Larson and Carlson home to make it 5-0 MCW. Wohlhuter plated Ida Rohman with an RBI single to complete the half-dozen.
Ivy Olson batted in courtesy runner Hayley Clark for a 7-0 MCW lead in the fifth. The Clippers scored both their runs on an error in the bottom half. Larson roped a double to bring Schultz home for the final MCW run. Sydney Clow went the distance with neither Clippers run earned on five hits plus four strikeouts and a walk.
Mavericks head coach Darrell Ziegler says he likes how MCW responded to their first loss of the season and recovered for the doubleheader split.
The 9-1 Mavericks visit Adrian/Ellsworth on Saturday.
FULL POST-GAME SHOW