DUBUQUE - After dropping a tough 9-3 contest in game one of Friday's American Rivers Conference doubleheader at the University of Dubuque, the Buena Vista softball team held off the Spartan, 4-3, in the nightcap and kept itself alive for the sixth and final conference tournament spot with one week left of the regular season.

The Spartans jumped out to a 1-0 lead in game two and continued to hold that same lead until the Beavers scored twice in the fifth.  Carlee Guyett put BVU on the board with an RBI single before McKynze Hansen added a sacrifice fly to give the team its first lead of the contest.

Dubuque would get one run back in the bottom half of the inning to pull even at 2-2 before the Beavers took the lead for good in the sixth.  Ashtyn Miller drove home a run on a sacrifice fly while Taylor Frain drove home a run with an infield single to shortstop.

The Spartans tried to rally, getting a run back in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-3, but then had the tying run thrown out at the plate.  The Spartans were then retired in order in the seventh.

Guyett finished 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI with Carmen Morrison also adding a double and tallying two hits.  

Freshman Peyton Gross went the distance for the second straight outing and picked up her 10th win of the year.  She allowed 10 hits and struck out four.

The Spartans scored in all but one inning of the opener while BVU scored two of its three runs in the sixth inning.

Dubuque led 4-0 before BVU got on the board in the third when Savanna Pohlmann belted her second home run in as many games to make it 4-1.  A solo home run by Dubuque an inning later pushed the margin back to four.  The Spartans made it 6-1 in the fifth before Michaela Mason brought the Beavers within 6-3 in the sixth with a two-run home run.  The rally fell short as Dubuque came back with three runs in the bottom half.

Guyett again doubled and finished with two hits.  She now has multi-hit games in four of the last five contests and has 12 on the year.  Frain also had two hits as BVU had seven overall.

Marissa Promes got the start in the circle but went just four innings, allowed six runs on nine hits.

Buena Vista is now 18-16 overall (4-10 A-R-C).  The Spartans are now 4-8 in conference play after the split and will now travel to league-leading Luther on Wednesday, April 24, before wrapping up the regular season at home against Nebraska Wesleyan on April 27.

The Beavers will be off until concluding their regular season at home against Simpson College (17-13, 4-6 A-R-C) on April 27 at 1:00 p.m.  BVU, Simpson and Dubuque will all enter the final week of the regular season tied for sixth with four wins.