On the game’s first pitch, Columbia College’s all-conference pitcher Jayne Miller went to the ground and struggled to get to her feet. Her teammates gathered in a circle around her, hoping that she could continue.

But that one pitch, in which she hit Missouri Baptist’s Maggie Bryan, was Miller’s last for at least a week with a back injury.

On the bench, No. 2 pitcher Renea Vest, who was resting for her start in Game 2, was pressed into action.

Thanks to an error and a triple, the Cougars fell behind by two runs and eventually lost 3-2. But No. 12 Columbia College (26-14, 7-3 American Midwest Conference) regained composure, and Vest (13-7) shut out the Spartans 1-0 in second game.

Miller, who suffered the loss in the opener, has been bothered by a pulled muscle in her right rib cage for the past few weeks.

"Jayne’s done, she went to the hospital to have a doctor look at her," coach Wendy Spratt said. "She’s been struggling with a sore rib ever since we got back from Florida (March 28). I think she was compensating it with her back, and she pulled some muscles in her back."

Cougar trainer Jon Barfknecht said that Miller’s rib injury and more recent back injury are not related.

After allowing two runs in the first and one in the second inning, Vest did an admirable job by going five shutout innings.

"Renea went in in a tight spot," Spratt said. "She wasn’t warmed up in the first game. Jayne going out just after the first batter I think was tough for everyone to recover from."

The Cougars scored a run in the third. A mammoth homer to left center by Amy Siepp in the sixth cut the Spartan lead to 3-2.

"I wasn’t worried, not at all," said Missouri Baptist coach Kelley Brent, whose team is now 10-9, 4-4. "I knew it was a run we could go ahead and give them. It was a tough pitch to go down and get it. It was a legitimate hit, and she did a great job getting that low fastball."

Freshman Krista Viefhaus came up big in the second game on Senior Day. After six scoreless innings, Viefhaus doubled with one out to score Katie Dooley, who opened the inning with a double.

With Miller injured, Viefhaus — in her first game back since spraining her right ankle three weeks ago — was modest about her accomplishment.

"I don’t know if I’m a hero," Veifhaus said. "Katie got a hit, she could be the hero. She started it off. But I knew somebody needed to get a hit, and I was hoping it was me."

The Cougars closed out their home and conference season and will go to the Iowa Wesleyan Sammons Classic this weekend with Vest as their only pitcher. Columbia College is scheduled to play five games in two days in the event.

First baseman Dooley will serve as the emergency backup pitcher in case Vest gets fatigued.

"The key to our success in the postseason is getting Jayne back healthy," said Spratt, whose Cougars will play in the conference tournament on April 27-28. "It’s hard for only one pitcher to go out, especially in tournament play, to play all the games. Katie can pitch if we get in a jam."