ADA, Okla. - No. 3 Midwestern State raced out to a five-run lead then held on for a 6-5 Lone Star Conference North Division win over East Central in Game 1 Saturday afternoon at Lady Tiger Field.

The Mustangs batted around to score four runs in the second inning keyed by a two-run single by Katie Petersen as Nick Duff and Kristina Gutierrez drove in runs in a four-run, four-hit second inning to chase ECU starter Courtney Gaines, who pitched to eight batters while allowing three runs on four hits with one credited inning pitch.

East Central got a lift from junior pitcher Wanda Malone, who pitched the remaining six innings while yielding a pair of unearned runs on four hits to go along with five strikeouts.

The Tigers rallied for an unearned run in the fourth inning before the Mustangs took advantage of a dropped fly ball by ECU center fielder Nicole Sanchez to plate two more runs in the fifth.

MSU senior catcher Lauren Craig extended her season-best hitting streak to nine games with a double to right field, then scored when Reynolds reached on the error.

Brittney Tanner, who paced Midwestern at the plate by going 2-for-3, yanked a run-scoring single to the left-field gap to push the Mustangs advantage to 6-1.

Tanner breezed through the first five innings before running into trouble in the bottom of the sixth.

East Central third baseman Kasey Barber led off with a double to left-center field, then Cassandra Nordie stroked a one-out double down the right-field to pull the Tigers within 6-2.

Randee Crockett followed by reaching on a wild pitch on a strikeout and Laura Loughmiller reached on a single to center field.

Tanner induced Hillary Hughes to popout to the pitcher that should have ended the inning, but Nicole Sanchez followed with a two-run single through the right side to chase Tanner from the game.

Tanner, who would pick up the win to improve to 11-2, allowed five runs - four earned - on seven hits and had six strikeouts and one walk.

Petersen, who allowed an RBI single to the first hitter she faced to pull ECU within 6-5, earned her first save of the season and 10th of her career. She allowed two hits while striking out three in 1 2/3 innings.

Midwestern State improved to 33-6 overall and to 9-2 against the LSC North, while the Tigers fell to 25-12 and 6-5.