DENVER, Colo.—University of Southern Indiana Softball suffered a 7-2 setback to No. 4 Rogers State University in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Softball Championship Thursday afternoon.

Rogers State (54-10) scored in the top of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead, while a three-run home run in the third put the No. 10 Screaming Eagles in a 4-0 deficit.

USI (49-12) began to chip away at the deficit as sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to get the Eagles on the scoreboard. Fair struck again in the sixth inning with her 13th home run of the year and the Eagles loaded the bases with no outs trailing 4-2.

Rogers State All-American pitcher Andrea Morales, however, induced a fielder’s choice ground out before striking out back-to-back batters to keep the Hillcats’ two-run lead in tact.

The Hillcats took advantage of a lead-off double and an error to score three times in the seventh as USI saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.

Junior pitcher Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) took the loss in the circle after giving up seven runs, four earned, off eight hits in 3 1/3 innings of work. She falls to 16-4 with the decision.

Morales (35-4) got the win after giving up two runs off two hits and striking out 10 USI batters.

The Eagles head to the elimination bracket, where they will play No. 1 University of Texas at Tyler Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT). The Patriots (47-8) suffered a 5-1 loss to No. 8-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills in the opening game Thursday.