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W 8-3
L 3-1
W 9-0
W 11-1
Morris, Minn. – The Minnesota Morris softball team hosted a pair of doubleheaders today (Apr. 17), splitting with Northwestern and sweeping Crown in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action.
Morris was originally supposed to host Northwestern on Friday and Crown on Saturday, but after two days of postponements, the teams were forced to play all four games today. Opening with Northwestern, the Cougars first won the first game 8-3 before the Eagles earned the split 3-1.
In the second doubleheader of the day, the Cougars swept the Storm, 9-0 and 11-1, winning each game in five innings.
Three different Cougars logged wins on the day with Kaitlyn Randall (Concord, Calif.) (3-6) topping Northwestern in the opener, and Kelli Hamilton (Delano, Minn.) (3-6) and Emily Mehr (Aitkin, Minn.) (1-0) teaming up to take the Crown series.
Randall also took the loss in the second game with the Eagles, after taking the circle in relief to get the first win. In all she pitched 10.0 innings on the day and finished with 16 strikeouts and just eight hits allowed. In her game one win, she pitched the final three innings and allowed just one hit at no runs. Her nine strikeouts in the second game is her third highest total of the season, and the most since 11 against North Central on Apr. 5.
Randall was also among the leaders on offense with four hits, three runs scored and three RBI. In the final game of the day, she put the score out of reach with her shot over the left field wall for her second homerun of the season.
In her win, Hamilton threw a two-hit shutout, facing just three over the minimum. The hit total is her lowest of the season in a game she started.
Mehr collected her first decision of the season in what was her second start, and first since Mar. 14. She allowed a season low two hits in pitching her first complete game of the season.
In the first game of the day, the Cougars broke open a 3-3 tie with a five run sixth on their way to the 8-3 win. The runs came in bunches all day, as in the first game with Crown, Morris scored five in the first and four in the second for the 9-0 win.
Then to wrap up the day, the Cougars scored four runs each in the third and fourth innings for their 11-1 victory. They also had 11 hits in the game, a high on the day.
Diane Blommel (Grey Eagle, Minn.) led the hit parade with a team high six total on the day, and now leads the team with a .484 batting average. Ally Obernolte (St. Paul, Minn.) and Emily Mehr (Aitkin, Minn.) added four, while Heather Briese (Fergus Falls, Minn.) led all players with four RBI.
The Cougars up their season record to 9-13 at the end of the day, and now sit at 6-3 in UMAC play.
They will return to action when Presentation visits Morris for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader on Wednesday (Apr. 20), before hitting the road to play Northland and St. Scholastica on Thursday (Apr. 21) and Friday (Apr. 22) respectively.
