Mankato, Minn. — The Crown softball team split the series with Bethany Lutheran today as they continued conference play. In game one, Lis King pitched a shutout as Crown won 3-0, but unfortunately in game two Crown fell in 10 innings 3-4. Softball is now 8-2 in conference play with only six conference games left. 

In game one, King led Crown with her pitching, only allowing five hits in seven innings of work, with no extra base hits and no earned runs. Offensively, all three runs came in the second inning on two consecutive at bats when shortstop Marissa Becerra hit an RBI single to score Moriah Sawyer, followed by outfielder Cassidy Valenzuela's two-RBI double, scoring Janelle Williams and Becerra. The top half of the fifth was the only scoring that occurred in the game with both pitchers operating at an elite level. 

In game two, pitcher Lis King started the game with a bang as she hit her eighth home run of the season (already owning the single-season record for Crown). In Lis King's second at bat at the beginning of the second inning, King's power was shown off again as she hit her ninth home run of the season with a blast over the left field fence to retake a 2-1 lead. King pitched superbly as well, with only two earned runs in the typical seven innings of play. Unfortunately, the second run came in the bottom of the second to tie up the game. Crown finally was able to get a run on anything other than a King home run in the top of the tenth inning, with Cortney Gunderson scoring on a wild pitch. However, Bethany matched with two runs of their own in the bottom of the tenth inning to steal the victory from Crown's grasps. King pitched all 9.2 innings for the Storm. 

Crown next plays Northland at home on Saturday, 1 pm.