Coach Wendy Spratt sometimes jokes that she accepted the former Jefferson City softball and basketball star just so she could have a reason to celebrate next week’s Senior Day.

But Spratt also knew that Talbert was a clutch hitter and a strong defensive player at second base, both of which were major factors in the 5-0, 1-0 double-header sweep of Central Methodist College at Cougar Field yesterday.

Both games were decided by late rallies and Talbert had the game-winning hit in each one.

Talbert’s single to left center with the bases loaded and no outs in seventh inning of game two scored Renea Vest to end a 3½ -hour day for both the Eagles (18-11) and No. 13 Cougars (25-13).

"I got the pitch up a little bit so I was able to take it out to left center. It’s been a while since I hit a big one like that," Talbert said.

Talbert had a chance to discuss the situation just before the decisive swing.

"They called timeout and that gave me a chance to talk to Adrianne," Spratt said. "I said, ‘See the pitch, see that ball as big as you can and get it out of the infield. We’ll score for you.’ And she did, she hit it right over the left fielder’s head. We would have scored even had she caught it because we had everyone tagged and ready to go."

The Cougars earlier squandered a similar scoring opportunity. With the bases loaded and no out in the fourth inning, the Cougars grounded out once and flied out twice, stranding all three bases runners.

But defensively Columbia College came up big, with strong pitching performances by Jayne Miller and Vest.

CMC stranded two runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth inning and left the bases loaded in the sixth inning in game two against Vest. The Eagles also missed several good scoring opportunities against Miller in game one.

"It feels really good to win some close games and stay with it through a lot of tight situations," said Talbert. "They had runners in scoring position quite a few times and we were able to hold them with some really good defensive plays. They could have really opened the door with just one hit. We just stayed strong, didn’t give up, which is good to see as it’s coming around to the end of the year. We need to start doing that more and more."

Vest (12-7) picked up the win for the Cougars in game two, going seven innings and allowing four hits, and all-conference pitcher Miller (13-6), who allowed three hits in seven innings, won game one. Each had four strikeouts.

The Cougars broke open a scoreless game in the opener with a sixth-inning explosion, scoring five runs on seven hits. Vest, playing as the designated hitter, and Megan Kuntze singled and Kim Meyer reached base on an error to load the bases with no outs. Talbert then doubled to score the game-winning runs.

"Anytime somebody gets a hit, we string them together and we’re notorious for that," Spratt said. "We don’t have to outhit the other team, we just get the hits when we need them."

The Cougars, who lead the American Midwest Conference with a 6-2 record, close out conference regular season at home against Missouri Baptist next Thursday.