SUMMIT – No. 6 Jones split on the road for the third time in four MACCC doubleheaders Tuesday night, defeating Southwest 2-1 in the opener but falling 17-9 in six innings in the nightcap.

The Bobcats moved to 28-7, 7-3 in conference play. Southwest is now 20-5, 6-2 MACCC.

Jones returns home on Saturday, March 28 for a 2 p.m. twinbill against Holmes.

Jones 2, Southwest 1

Madison Sawyer tossed her second straight two-hitter and Annaston Tate had the go-ahead single in the top of the sixth in a game one victory.

Mary Kimble Price homered in the first, a lead that would hold into the fifth. 

Southwest tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame on a passed ball with two outs. Corin Talbot walked, was sacrificed to second, tagged up on a fly ball to third and then scored to tie it.

Jones retook the lead two batters into the sixth when Sawyer doubled and pinch runner Claire Andersen scored off an RBI-single by Tate.

The Bears had the tying run on in the seventh with two outs when Sawyer was able to get a fielder's choice to end it.

Sawyer improved to 12-1 in the circle and SMCC's Allie Ladnier fell to 7-3. 

Southwest 17, Jones 9 (6 inn.)

Leading 7-2 in the second, Jones was outscored 15-2 over the next five innings as Southwest handed Jones its first run-rule loss of the year.

For head coach Tori Dew, it was just the second run-rule loss in her 151 games as head coach.

The Bobcats pounced for three runs in the top of the first on back-to-back RBI-doubles by Mabry Eason and Price and an RBI-single by Sawyer.

Alexis Dejean hit a two-run homer to get the Bears within 3-2 after one.

Price extended the lead back to three in the second on a two-run homer to left and a bases-loaded walk and RBI-single for Fairley Hall made it 7-2 Cats.

But that's when things turned.

Southwest had two on with two outs in the bottom of the second before eight runs would score, capped by Madalyn Ashford's bases-clearing double that put Southwest on top 10-7.

Eason homered to lead off the third to make it 10-8 but Southwest responded with a solo homer by Tristan Allen in the fourth to make it 11-8.

Tate homered in the fifth to pull it back to 11-9.

Two, two-run homers for Southwest in the fifth pushed the lead back out to 15-9 after five.

Dejean would end it for the Bears in the bottom of the sixth with a sac fly that scored Talbot.

Ten of Southwest's 17 hits went for extra bases. Jones had 14, led by Easton and Price with three apiece.

Breelyn Cain (5-4) was chased after five outs, allowing nine runs on six hits. Abigail Lindsey logged three innings and gave up six runs on eight hits.

Ladnier, the game one starter for Southwest, came on to throw the final three innings and got the save for the Bears.