Western Kentucky split the final day of the Mercer University Softball Invitational on Saturday with a 8-6 loss to Iowa and a 13-2, six-inning win over Mercer in Macon, Georgia.

Maci Masters hit a grand slam in the first inning of both games on Saturday, and a six-run sixth inning put the Tops (6-3 overall) over the Bears (7-2 overall) as they bounced back from their loss on Friday.

Masters opened the scoring for the Hilltoppers against Mercer with her second grand slam of the day in the first inning to put WKU up, 4-0.

Mercer answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame before Maddy Wood shut down their offense with her first strikeout of the game.

A single from Katie Murphy and a stolen base put a Hilltopper on second as Murphy scored on a single from Kendle White and a fielding error in right field.

Neither side scored for the next inning and a half until a wild pitch scored White, who reached earlier thanks to a fielding error. Two batters later, Kennedy Stinson singled through the left side and scored Jenna Blanton to put WKU up over Mercer, 7-1.

A home run from the Bears was the last score of the evening for the home team, cutting into the deficit, 7-2, going into the top of the fifth.

The top of the sixth brought a total of six runs that started with Charlotte Herron reaching with a fielder’s choice.
Anna Mauck continued the scoring with a single to score two more as Murphy and Morgan Sharpe followed with a double and a single, respectively, to push the score to 12-2.

Blanton was responsible for the 13th and final run of the game with a single of her own.

Wood secured her third win of the season, needing only 73 pitches to seal the victory. Wood’s ERA improved to 1.87, the best of any Hilltopper pitcher so far.

WKU improved to 2-3 all-time against Mercer and 2-3 when playing in Macon.

The Hilltoppers got off to a hot start against Iowa (7-2) in the first inning as Masters collected her first grand slam of the day.

Iowa answered with a solo shot in the bottom half of the frame and then added two more runs in the bottom of the second to bring the score to 4-2.

A solo shot from Annie White in the top of the third extended the Tops’ lead to 5-3. The score held until the bottom of the fifth when the Hawkeyes scored two to tie, 5-5.

The Hawkeyes scored another three in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead, 8-5.

WKU scored another run in the top of the seventh thanks to a single from Stinson, but their comeback efforts came up short.

Blanton led the offense with five hits combined in the two games, while Masters was the best at run production with eight on the day.

WKU returns home to host the Hilltopper Classic with Butler, Detroit Mercy and Western Michigan. First pitch on Friday against Butler is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the WKU Softball Complex.