(Story by: Zach Koenig)
Duluth, MN—Despite scoring 12 runs over two games, the University of Minnesota-Morris softball team could not tally a victory on Saturday, losing 11-6 and 9-6 to St. Scholastica.
The first contest saw the Cougars fall behind 4-0 after three innings. Starting pitcher Emilie Kalvig (Jr. Blackduck, MN) allowed two runs in both the second and third innings.
However, UMM batters stormed back to score four runs in the fifth inning to tie the game. The Cougars nearly batted around in the inning as Briana Czer (Jr. New Ulm, MN), Liz Leuty (Fr. St. Cloud, MN), Heather Briese (Fr. Fergus Falls, MN), and Ashley Corbett (Jr. Forest Lake, MN) contributed singles in the big inning.
With the score tied at 4-4, the game got away from Kalvig in the sixth inning, when St. Scholastica collected seven hits en route to seven runs.
Minnesota-Morris put Diane Blommel (Fr. Long Prairie, MN) and Julie Rohling (So. Howard Lake, MN) on base to start the seventh inning and both came around to score, putting the final tally at 11-6.
Leuty (2-4, R), Blommel (2-4, 2 R), and Corbett (2-4, RBI) led the Cougar offense in the losing effort, while Czer, Briese, and Bailey Jelle (Jr. Lakeville, MN) also collected single hits.
Kalvig dropped to 2-4 by allowing 11 runs (although only three were earned) over six innings.
The Cougars got off to a much better start in the second game when Briese led off the second inning with a double, which was eventually followed by a Corbett single, a Leuty hit-by-pitch, and a Jelle single to give UMM a 3-0 lead.
St. Scholastica roared back in the bottom of the second, however, to score six runs on three hits (including a triple) and one Cougar error off UMM starter Stephanie Wilson (So. Detroit Lakes, MN). The home team extended the lead to 7-3 on a solo home run the next inning.
Not to be deterred, Minnesota-Morris again mounted a comeback in the fourth inning, when Czer homered to left-center field to cut the deficit to 7-4. Then, successive singles from Jelle and Blommel turned into two more runs thanks to an RBI double from Wilson.
Trailing just 7-6, the Cougars were unable to plate any more runs for the remainder of the contest. St. Scholastica added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings for the 9-6 final score.
Wilson (2-4) took the loss by pitching six innings and allowing six earned runs. She also issued five base-on-balls during the game.
Wilson and Jelle each contributed two hits and two RBIs to lead the offense, while Czer’s one hit led to two RBIs and two runs scored.
 |  |
| Minnesota-Morris | 6 | 9 | 2 |
| St. Scholastica | 11 | 11 | 1 |
| Game 1 |
Box Score
| |
| Minnesota-Morris | 6 | 12 | 1 |
| St. Scholastica | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Game 2 |
Box Score
