ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—Senior pitcher Nikki Dunn (Southaven, Miss., Southaven HS) tossed a two-hit shutout in the first game to lift the Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs to a series split against Henderson State Monday afternoon, winning the first game 3-0 but dropping the nightcap 7-2.

Dunn (9-2) only allowed four baserunners in the opener, striking out 10 as she allowed just two walks and two hits.  Victoria Mathews (Arlington, Texas/Mansfield Timberview HS) provided all the offense Dunn would need in the top of the first as she started the game with a single.  She moved to second on a Jessica Ambers (Collierville, Tenn./Collierville HS) sacrifice bunt, and she scored on a pair of wild pitches, giving the Lady Bucs (10-6, 2-2 GSC West) the game's first run.

Mathews and Ambers teamed up to double the lead in the third inning.  Mathews extended the inning with a two-out single.  She stole second and scored on an Ambers single.

Michelle Paul (Arlington, Texas/Mansfield Summit HS) provided the final margin in the fifth inning, blasting a solo homer, her second at CBU, to set the score at 3-0.

Mathews continued her strong play, going 3-for-3 with two runs in the game.

Missed opportunities were the theme in the second game, as the Lady Bucs stranded nine runners in the 7-2 loss.

The Lady Reddies (15-12, 5-3) pounced on Dunn in the nightcap as their first four batters reached and scored as they built a 4-0 lead they would never relinquish.

Kallie McFatter (Mansfield, Texas/Summit HS) scored the Lady Bucs' first run in the second as she singled and scored on a Paul RBI single, but the Lady Bucs stranded two runners in the inning.  They also stranded two in the third and fourth, one in the sixth, and two more in the seventh.

The Lady Reddies scored once in the third and twice in the fourth to extend their lead to six runs, and a Casey King (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound HS) homer in the fifth set the final margin at 7-2.

The Lady Bucs hit the road again next weekend as they visit Arkansas Tech Saturday and Sunday for a four-game GSC West series.