MONMOUTH, Ill. -- The Lawrence University softball team posted a gritty comeback win Sunday against Monmouth College to earn a Midwest Conference doubleheader split at Monmouth Softball Field.
    The Vikings took the second game 4-3 after dropping a 5-4 decision in eight innings in the opener.
    Avery Chilson tossed 4.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory for Lawrence in the second game. Chilson allowed five hits, struck out two and walked two. 
    Gillian Guerriero went 3-for-3 with a double, drove in two runs and scored a run to pace the Vikings. Kourtney Mercer went 2-for-3 and drove in a run for Lawrence.
    Lawrence (9-15, 1-5 MWC) opened the nightcap with three runs in the opening inning. Mattigan Haller started the game with a walk, and walks to Janessa Gonzalez and Jordan Wallin-Swanson loaded the bases. Mercer singled to score Haller, and Guerriero followed with a two-run single to give the Vikings a 3-0 advantage.
    Monmouth (5-22, 3-1) picked up a run in the first and two more in the second to tie the game at 3-3.
    With Chilson putting up zeros for the Vikings, Lawrence broke through to take the lead in the sixth. Guerriero got things started with a one-out double and moved to third on a wild pitch. She came in to score on Chilson's ground ball for a 4-3 lead.
    Chilson then worked a perfect sixth and worked around two infield singles in the seventh. She struck out Alexis Hardy to end the game.
    In the opener, Mercer went 3-for-3 with a double and drove in two runs to lead Lawrence's 10-hit attack. Wallin-Swanson went 2-for-2, and Haller and Zoe Doherty both went 2-for-4 with a double.
    Chilson put together another strong outing the opener. She allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked three in seven-plus innings.
    Lawrence led 1-0 when Wallin-Swanson singled to score Doherty, who had doubled. The Vikings made it 2-0 in the fourth when Wallin-Swanson singled, and pinch-runner Laney Martens scored on Mercer's double. Lawrence tacked on another run in the sixth when Wallin-Swanson walked and Martens came in to score on Mercer's single.
    Monmouth came back to tie it with three runs in the bottom half of the sixth, but the Vikings scored in the top of the seventh. Haller doubled with two outs and scored on Doherty's single for a 4-3 lead. The Scots got a lead-off double and scored to tie it in the bottom half of the inning.
    Mercer singled in the eighth, but Lawrence was unable to score. Monmouth then got a triple from Hardy, who came in to score on a ground ball to end the game.