FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Friday afternoon, the University of Saint Francis Cougars (26-24; 15-19 Crossroads) traveled to Mishawaka, Indiana for the final four-game series of the regular season when they faced the Bethel University Pilots (23-27; 17-17 Crossroads) in a doubleheader and split the two games falling 7-4 in the opener before prevailing 5-4 in the finale.

In the opening game, freshman Cory Wolter started on the mound for the Cougars and started very strong in the early innings as he held the Pilots scoreless through the first three innings.

His teammates meanwhile ran up a 3-0 lead with one in the second and a couple in the third. But in the bottom of the fourth, the Pilots got to Wolter as they scored three runs all with two outs on a bases-loaded hit by pitch and a two-run single to tie the game at three.

With the score still tied in the bottom of the sixth, a leadoff error by the Cougars opened the door for the Pilots to take the lead, and they did just that plating four runs on a two-run double and a couple RBI-singles to take a 7-3 lead over Saint Francis, driving Wolter from the game.

After the early innings, the Cougars offense struggled through the rest of the game as a solo home run by first baseman Tyler Prince was all the scoring they did after the third inning as they dropped the opener 7-4.

In the second game, the Cougars sent freshman Deron Swanson to the mound to get the Cougars even, and he set the tone from the beginning allowing just one hit through the first couple innings. Meanwhile, Tyler Prince picked up where he left off in the first game as he led off the second with a solo home run to give Saint Francis a 1-0 lead.

The Pilots tied things up in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI-single and the game stayed tied at one until the top of the sixth.

Then the Cougars went to work with the bats. With one out David Miller and Tyler Prince singled to set the table, and what followed was four runs scoring on four hits, a couple walks, and two fielding errors by the Pilots as Saint Francis took a 5-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Swanson pitched brilliantly as he struck out five batters while allowing just one run on five hits through six innings pitched. Despite a rally by the Pilots in the seventh inning, the Cougars snuffed them out to secure the 5-4 win and split the first two games.

The Cougars and Pilots will wrap up their series on Saturday with a doubleheader in Mishawaka beginning at 1:00 pm.