Jones, who is on pace to break the Columbia College home run record, fell short of belting her third homer in two days but did blast a bases-loaded triple that blew open the second game. With the offensive outburst and strong pitching from Jayne Miller and Renea Vest, Columbia improved to 3-1.

"What I like to do is to drive it hard and that was my big hit game and it felt good, felt real good," said Jones, the team captain. "I think it broke the atmosphere, too."

The No. 12 Cougars will travel to Union, Tenn., to take part in the Union Tournament this weekend.

"We haven’t beat that team in a while," Cougar coach Wendy Spratt said. "They’ve swept us the past two years so it was good to get those wins under our belt."

Besides the continued power hitting from Jones, Katie Dooley picked up an RBI and Jamie Seipp had a three-RBI triple.

Pitchers Miller and Vest didn’t need much help, though. Miller, an all-conference selection as a freshman, struck out seven and allowed only five hits in Game 1.

Vest pitched a near perfect game until the fifth and final inning in Game 2. She got into a bases-loaded jam with two walks and allowed a two-out single by Jamie Florance to score the only Missouri Western runs.

"I just threw my pitches and the defense did a great job," said Vest (2-0). "It was nothing special. I just picked my spots and the defense played really well."

Spratt was pulling for the dual shutout.

"It was tough to give up that last hit, but it was solid pitching nonetheless," Spratt said. "Jayne had a much better start than yesterday. She was really throwing her game today and we all know that’s what she’s capable of."

Jones, who had seven homers as a freshman, said her confidence was lifted by the game.

"I think as a team we’re strong hitters and we have a lot of speed and with that we can dominate a few teams," she said.