ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn.– The University of Minnesota Morris softball team suffered a pair of losses to wrap up the first UMAC softball Crossover Weekend. Despite an early lead on Bethany Lutheran College, the Cougars finished the first game of the day with a 15-9 loss to the co-league leaders. Later in the day, Martin Luther College came away with a 9-2 victory over UMN Morris. The Cougars are now 8-18 (2-6 UMAC) on the season.
Minnesota Morris will host its first games of the season on Tuesday at Big Cat Stadium. The doubleheader with North Central University will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Lutheran 15, Minnesota Morris 9
A pair of four-run leads weren’t enough to fend off the potent Bethany Lutheran offense in the day’s opening game.
In tough pitching conditions, wildness from BLC starter Kaija Mork led to three runs for Minnesota Morris without even collecting a hit in the top of the first inning.
Adrianna Johnson had no problem with the Viking lineup in the first two innings and Minnesota Morris then tacked on another run with a Mary Landherr double leading to a passed ball and a 4-0 lead.
Bethany Lutheran loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third and would eventually score four runs to tie the game up at 4-4. Minnesota Morris would do the same in the top of the fourth, taking the lead back on a RBI walk from Sierra Stevens to make it 5-4. An error on the next Cougar hitter allowed another run to score and Landherr followed with a single that drove in two, putting Minnesota Morris back in front, 8-4.
The comeback began for the Vikings in the bottom of the fourth with two runs to cut their deficit to 8-6. In the bottom of the fifth, Bethany Lutheran added seven more runs on four hits and a Minnesota Morris error to take a 13-8 lead. Two more runs in the bottom of the sixth made a comeback from the Cougars unlikely.
A lead-off double from Brenna Mahoney and a one-out RBI single from Tori Nichols got Minnesota Morris one run closer in the top of the ninth, but Bethany Lutheran closed it out from there to secure the win.
Johnson fell to 5-7 on the season with the loss in the circle. Landherr finished the game going 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs, and two runs scored.
Martin Luther 9, Minnesota Morris 2
Batting as the away team in the second game of the day, Minnesota Morris once again got out to a quick lead but were unable to hang on.
Three straight singles in the top of the first from Brenna Mahoney, Landherr, and Nichols loaded the bases and Mahoney scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Johnson for a 1-0 lead. Martin Luther responded with a two-out rally in the bottom of the first, scoring all of its four runs with two down.
The Knights continued to lead by three until an error opened the door for another run in the bottom of the third. Minnesota Morris would score its final run in the top of the fourth with a lead-off single from Johnson, a passed ball, and a pair of groundouts that brought her home to make it 5-2. Autumn Theis had the RBI that scored the Cougar senior.
The game moved quickly from there and Martin Luther maintained its 5-2 margin until the bottom of the sixth when four runs put the game away.
Morgan Wilhelm (2-7) was charged with the loss, striking out three in 5.1 innings. Anna Baumann was 2-for-3 at the plate.
Team Statistics
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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
P
Freshman
R/R
C/OF
Freshman
L/R
Players Mentioned
