Wilmington College and Thomas More battled to a split in non-conference play at the WC Softball Complex Thursday afternoon. The Saints took the opener, 3-0, and Wilmington bounced back to take game two, 5-3.

The Quakers are now 7-3 on the season while Thomas More leaves town at 5-5.

"We were very successful in Florida with a 6-2 record, but coming home and getting a quality win over a good Thomas More team is huge for us," Wilmington head coach Beth Floyd said.

Wilmington put its toughness on display in winning the nightcap. Thomas More took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Quakers responded with a Catlin Shilling (Waverly) RBI single in the first and run-scoring hits by Elise Mariner (North Canton/Hoover) and Stacy Lunsford (Wilmington/Clinton-Massie) to go up, 3-2, in the second.

Shilling doubled in the third to set up a Caitlin Baker (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) RBI single that gave the Quakers a 4-3 lead.

Wilmington manufactured an insurance run in the sixth when Danielle Monnier (Houston) walked and was bunted to second by Mariner. Monnier moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single off the bat of Holly Sheets (Richwood/North Union).

"We did all the little things. We got leadoff batters on, moved them over and got key hits. But what stood out most to me was our outstanding base running. We were aggressive and took every base we could," Floyd said.

Wilmington's defense also came up big. The Quakers ended a Thomas More rally in the third inning with a double play and threw out the potential go-ahead run in the fifth inning.

"We are maturing as a team, and coming with that maturity is the ability to make plays that we might not have made last year," Floyd said. "We are more confident, and that confidence is allowing us to make plays in the field that win games."

Monnier raised her record to 3-1 with a gutsy 6.1-inning performance.

"Danielle is a fighter. She's a tough, hard-working kid who competes," Floyd said. "She wants to win, and she showed that toughness today."

Kylie Ford (South Vienna/Northeastern) entered the game with two runners on and one out in the seventh inning. The junior fanned back-to-back batters to preserve the win for Monnier and pick up her first save of the season.

Missed chances haunted Wilmington in the opener as the Quakers left nine runners on base.

The Saints scored single runs in the third, fourth and seventh innings.

Wilmington will host Mount St. Joseph in a non-conference doubleheader at 2 p.m. Saturday.