ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris softball team finished with a split of its first two games of the UMAC Crossover, hosted by Crown College on Friday. The Cougars came from 8-2 down in the sixth inning to defeat Northland College, 9-8, in the opening game. The University of Wisconsin-Superior posted an 8-0 shutout of UMN Morris later in the afternoon, leaving the Cougars at 8-16 (2-4 UMAC) on the season.
The weekend concludes tomorrow in St. Bonifacius with Minnesota Morris scheduled to face Bethany Lutheran College at 12 p.m. and Martin Luther College at 2 p.m.
Minnesota Morris 9, Northland 8
The Cougars mounted a furious comeback from 8-2 down entering the bottom of the sixth to defeat the LumberJills in the day’s first contest. Adrianna Johnson went 6.0 innings but ended with a no-decision. Autumn Theis (1-3) had a 1-2-3 seventh inning and earned the win in the circle.
Northland started the game with four singles in the first inning and took a 3-0 lead, though Minnesota Morris cut into it with an Alice Wilkinson walk, stolen base, and Mary Landherr RBI single to make it 3-1 after the first. The Cougars then pulled within one on a throwing error in the bottom of the second, allowing Johnson to run home from second to pull within a run at 3-2.
A run of five straight singles in the top of the third brought two more runs home for Northland to take a 5-2 lead on UMN Morris. The LumberJills added a run on a double-play ball in the top of the fourth and then tacked on two more with four more singles in the top of the sixth, taking a commanding 8-2 lead on the Cougars.
In the bottom of the sixth, singles from Brenna Mahoney, Johnson, and Anna Athey loaded the bases before Sierra Stevens walked to force home a run. Theis then entered as a pinch-hitter and singled to the wall, bringing in all three baserunners to slice the deficit down to 8-6. A Tori Nichols single and a Northland error later in the inning brought Landherr in and pulled the Cougars within a run.
Following Theis’ quick inning of work in the top of the seventh, Nevaeh Polanco led off the bottom of the inning with a single before being lifted for pinch-runner Anna Baumann. Baumann stole second and went to third on a sacrifice bunt before another miscue from the LumberJill defense brought her home to knot the game at 8-8. Athey was the beneficiary of the Northland error and she promptly stole second and went to third on a fielder’s choice grounder from Stevens. With runners on the corners, Theis laid down a bunt in front of home plate and Northland was unable to deal with it, giving Athey the chance to sprint home for the winning run.
Entering late in the contest, Theis went 2-for-2 with four RBIs in the game. Landherr and Nichols each were 3-for-4, while Polanco added two hits on the afternoon.
UW-Superior 8, Minnesota Morris 0 (6 innings)
After each team had a runner thrown out at home in the first inning, UW-Superior took control of the game with five hits in the bottom of the second to score four runs and never looked back.
The best chance the Cougars had later on to get back in the game was with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, but Taylor Kraemer was able to work out of the jam unscathed. UW-Superior then added another run in the fifth before a three-run sixth brought the game to a halt ahead of the last Minnesota Morris turn at the plate.
Theis was again the pitcher of record for the Cougars, but took the loss after throwing the first two innings to fall to 1-4 on the season. Hits in the game for Minnesota Morris came from Stevens, Brenna Mahoney, Landherr, Olivia Losee, and Theis.
Team Statistics
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
C/IF
Sophomore
R/R
OF
Junior
R/R
P/2B
Senior
R/R
OF
Junior
L/L
3B
Junior
R/R
OF/C
Sophomore
R/R
P/1B
Senior
R/R
IF
Freshman
R/R
IF
Freshman
R/R
IF
Freshman
L/R
Players Mentioned
