LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. (Mar. 4, 2025) - The Buena Vista softball team returned to the diamond on Tuesday afternoon for the first time in two weeks, and the Beavers pick up a convincing win in game two of the doubleheader at Covenant College to earn the split.

In the opener, the Beavers held a 4-1 lead heading to the bottom of the fourth inning before Covenant erupted for six runs in the frame to regain the lead at 7-4. BVU tried to rally in the seventh after both senior Paige Druskis and freshman Bradi Krager led off the inning with back-to-back walks, but a ground out and a pair of strikeouts ended the game.

BVU took advantage of an error by the Covenant defense in the first inning to score the game's first run and after Covenant tied it at 1-1 in the second, the Beavers came back with an RBI single by Rylie Garner in the third and RBI singles from Lindsay Nelson and Druskis in the fourth to build its lead before the Scots rallied back late.

Krager reached base four times, including three walks and recorded her first collegiate base hit when she tripled as the second batter of the game. Buena Vista finished the game with five hits with Krager's going down as the only extra-base knock. She also stole one base and scored a pair of runs. 

Grace Fuhrman (0-3) made the start on the mound and suffered the loss. Garner came on in relief and pitched the final 2.1 innings.

Krager kept her hot bat at the plate working in the finale. She finished 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases. She, along with Druskis and Garner, chalked up two hits as the first three batters in the line-up combined for six of the team's 12 hits in the game.

Senior Madalyn Elwood and freshman Lindy Nelso also added a pair of hits and were one of four Beavers to double in the contest. Elwood also drove home to runs as did freshman Jordan Fabirkiewicz. Druskis, Krager, Elwood and Danica Workman all scored two runs as the Beavers posted their highest single-game total since defeating Central College, 17-13, back on Apr. 20, 2022.

BVU started fast by jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Garner got the parade started with a sacrifice fly before Elwood extend the lead to 3-0 with a 2-run single to right. Nelson then chipped in with a run-scoring double to the gap in right center to make it a four-run cushion.

The Scots cut that lead in half with two runs of their own in the second inning but then it was virtually all BVU from there. Workman doubled home a run in the fourth while Krager followed later in the inning with an infield single to shortstop that made it 6-2. The Beavers then exploded for seven two-out runs in the fifth inning, on five hits and took advantage of two errors by the Scots. Krager had a two-run single to center that made it 9-2 with Fabirkiewicz adding her 2-run double that made it 12-2. The final run came across on a throwing error by the Scots.

Kali Irlmeier (1-1) went the distance to pick up her second career victory. She allowed just one earned run and four hits and struck out two.

Buena Vista is 1-5 overall and is back in action on Wednesday, Mar. 5 to play a doubleheader at Piedmont University starting at 11 a.m. CST.