The Misericordia University softball team split a pair of games on the opening day of the MAC Freedom Championships, Friday at Wilkes.
 
The Cougars defeated Wilkes, 4-0, in the opener, but lost to Manhattanville in the winner's bracket final.
 
Misericordia will face Wilkes in an elimination game, Saturday at 11:00 a.m.  The winner will face Manhattanville for the MAC Freedom title.
 
In the first game, Kiersten Pflueger had two hits, including a solo homer, and drove in two runs and Brianna Holder had a two-run single.
 
Megan Murphy made two sliding catches in right field to preserve the shutout for Brooke Moyle.  Moyle struck out three and allowed just five hits to improve to 11-6.
 
Pflueger provided all the offense the Cougars needed with a solo homer to left to lead off the second inning.
 
The Cougars added three insurance runs in the fourth.  Maddie Holub singled to left and advanced to third on a pair of throwing errors.  Pflueger drove in a run with a soft liner to center to make it 2-0. 
 
One out later, Moyle singled to left and both runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt.  Holder doubled to right center to drive in a pair of runs.
 
Murphy made a sliding catch on a sinking liner for the first out in the top of the fifth and made a diving grab on a liner to end the sixth inning.
 
Holder and Maddie Holub both had two hits against Manhattanville and Taylor Baloga had a pinch-hit RBI-double.
 
Miranda Bohn scattered 10 hits over six innings while absorbing the loss.
 
Manhattanville took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
Holder and Baloga hit back-to-back doubles as the Cougars got a run back in the top of the fifth, but Manhattanville answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame.