ST. LOUIS - Webster University played its second straight elimination doubleheader here Sunday on Senior Day at UMSL's Softball Field as the Gorloks swept a doubleheader from Spalding University and kept its chances alive to claim the final spot in this year's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament that begins Thursday at ABC Park in St. Ann, Mo. 

Webster opened Sunday's Senior Day doubleheader with a walk-off 4-3 win in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by senior first baseman Katlyn Garza (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt North) and then posted an 11-2 win that was halted in the bottom of the fifth due to the 8-run mercy rule following a 2-run homer off the bat of sophomore centerfielder Abby Burroughs (Edwardsville, Ill./Triad) that gave Webster a nine run lead.

Ever since dropping both ends of a doubleheader last Tuesday at Eureka, the Gorloks have been forced to play elimination doubleheaders against Blackburn this past Wednesday, Spalding on Sunday and they will close the regular season with a doubleheader on Monday night at Iowa Wesleyan. It is simple for the Gorloks, sweep the Tigers on Monday night and they earn the fourth and final spot in the SLIAC Tournament, while anything less than a sweep gives the fourth spot in the tournament to Eureka, who is currently 11-7 in the league and is sitting in fourth place. 

With Sunday's two victories, Webster improves its record to 15-15 overall and 10-6 in the SLIAC, while Spalding closes the year with a 17-16 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the SLIAC.

At the end of the Sunday's first game of the doubleheader against the Golden Eagles, the Gorloks honored its six-member senior class in a ceremony on the field. The seniors on this year's team are Garza, catcher Terri Dearth (Lemont, Ill./Southwestern Illinois), pitcher Kelsey Donohue (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West), second baseman Tessa Johanning (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan), pitcher Morgan Mansur (Decatur, Ill./Liincoln Land CC) and pitcher Chelsea Thornley (Clinton, Mo./Clinton). Three of those six seniors are four-year players (Garza, Johanning and Thornley), while one (Donohue) has been at Webster for three years and the remaining two (Dearth and Mansur) have played for two seasons at Webster.

Garza's single in the bottom of ninth brought home Dearth from third base to help the Gorloks rally from a 3-0 deficit after two innings. Dearth opened the inning on second thanks to international tie breaker rule and moved to third on a bunt by Johanning and would score on Garza's 2-out single through the left side. 

The game winning hit by Garza made a winner out of Mansur (9-6) as she tossed all nine innings and allowed six hits and three runs, while walking one and fanning four. Over her last two starts, Mansur has pitched two complete games (14 total innings) and has allowed 10 hits and five runs (all earned runs), while walking just one and striking out seven. 

In Sunday's opener, Webster's offense recorded 12 hits, but the Gorloks left 12 runners on base in the game, including leaving the bases loaded in the fifth inning with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Spalding left seven runners on game in the game.

Spalding jumped out in front 1-0 in the top of the first inning thanks to a leadoff double and a 2-out RBI single by Olivia Carter off of Mansur.

The Golden Eagles lead grew to 3-0 in the second thanks to a 2-run homer over the fence in left by Grace Sweat. 

In the third inning, Webster would finally dent the scoreboard as Dearth reached on a 2-out double to right and would score on an RBI single through the left side by Johanning off of Spalding starting pitcher Amber Kilburn. After Burroughs walked to put runners on first and second, Kilburn got out of the jam by forcing Garza to line out to Kaylin Rucker in left. 

The Gorloks would pull within 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth as Dearth, Johanning and Burroughs all reached on singles, the latter single by Burroughs brought Dearth home to score the Gorlokssecond run of the game. After Garza fouled out to shortstop for the second out, Mansur drew a walk to load the bases, but once again, Kilburn forced a pop out, this time, off the bat of junior third baseman Brienna Sheperd(Central Point, Ore./College of the Redwoods) to end the inning and leaves the bases loaded. 

Spalding had a chance to add an insurance run in the sixth inning as Carter reached on a one-out single and Caroline Hale drew a walk from Mansur to put a runner in scoring position with two outs. Mansur, though, would end the threat by forcing Sweat to ground out to Johanningat second to end the inning.

Trailing by a run heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Gorloks would use two hits in the inning to score the game tying run and force extra innings. In the frame, Johanning led off the inning with a single and after Burroughs struck out and Garza popped out, Mansur helped herself out at the plate as she ripped a double to left that allowed Johanning to score the tying run. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Webster put runners on first and third with one out, but would leave those runners stranded as Kilburn struck out sophomore shortstop Taylor White (St. Charles, Mo./Lutheran St. Charles) and Dearth flied out to right to end the inning. 

After Spalding couldn't get a run home from third in the top of the ninth, it set up the dramatic finish to the opener to help keep the Gorlokspostseason hopes alive. 

Dearth and Johanning each had three hits in the opener for the Gorloks, while Garza and Mansur each had two hits in the win. 

Carter paced Spalding with two hits as they finished with six in the game. 

Kilburn (5-11) took the loss in the circle for the Golden Eagles as she pitched 8.2 innings and allowed 12 hits and four runs (three earned), while walking two and fanning two. 

Meanwhile in the nightcap, Webster's offense recorded 10 hits, including a 3-for-4 effort with 3 RBIs at plate from Burroughs, while Dearth added two hits and three RBIs in the victory. 

Like they did in Sunday's opener, Spalding scored first in the nightcap as used two hits and a Webster fielding error by White to plate two unearned runs on a 2-run double to left center by Rucker off of Thornley, who started in the circle for the Gorloks.

The Gorloks, though, would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the first thanks to a fielder's choice, two wild pitches and an RBI double to right by Burorughs.

Webster would put the game away in the bottom of the second as they sent 12 hitters to the plate and used five hits, three walks and hit batsman to score seven runs and take an 8-2 lead. The big hits in the inning was an RBI single by Thornley, a 3-run homer by Dearth over the fence in left and a 2-run single by freshman rightfielder Amanda Kraus (Valley Park, Mo./Valley Park). Dearth's homer was her team leading eighth of the season. 

The Gorloks added another run in the third inning without a hit thanks to two Spalding errors and a wild pitch by Carter in the circle. In the inning, Johanning reached on a two-out error by Hale at third base and moved to second on a wild pitch and would score when Rucker dropped a ball hit off the bat of Burroughs for an error.

Thornley then would set the Golden eagles down in the order in the fourth and work around a leadoff single and stolen base in the fifth to keep the Golden Eagles off the scoreboard. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Johanning reached on a single to right center with one out. She would then steal second and would score on Burroughs' homer over the fence in left center to give Wester its third mercy-rule win in its last four games. The homer by Burroughs was her second of the season. 

Thornley (4-5) pitched all five innings and allowed six hits and two unearned runs, while striking out two and walking none.

Carter (9-5) took the loss for the Golden Eagles as she pitched 4.1 inning and allowed 10 hits and 11 runs (10 earned), while walking five and striking out none,

After leaving 12 runners on the base in the opener, Webster stranded seven runners on base in the nightcap, while Spalding stranded five. 

Ally Klein and Carter each had two hits for Spalding in the nightcap. 

Webster will now look to win two more games and secure a spot in the SLIAC Tournament as they travel to Mount Pleasant, Iowa for a doubleheader beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 30. Webster needs to sweep the Tigers to secure its spot in the SLIAC Tournament.