MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris softball team fell to Augsburg University by scores of 5-4 and 7-2 on Tuesday in a doubleheader at Edor Nelson Field. The Auggies took substantial leads in the first inning of both contests and the Cougars were unable to come away with a victory despite comeback attempts in each game.

With the two losses, Minnesota Morris drops to 2-6 on the season. Next up for the Cougars is a doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on March 19 in Plymouth, Minn.

Game One: Augsburg 5, Minnesota Morris 4
Augsburg surged ahead in the bottom of the first inning, with the first four hitters in the lineup connecting on base hits. That made the score 1-0 and a RBI groundout followed to make it 2-0 before a double cleared the bases and made it 4-0 after the opening frame.

Minnesota Morris cut the lead in half in the top of the third. Sarah Curtiss led off with a double and Eleanore Steinhouse later reached on a fielder's choice as Curtiss moved to third. Steinhouse then stole second to put two runners in scoring position and Olivia Diver drove them home with a single, leaving the score at 4-2.

In the fifth inning, a two-out error cost the Auggies as Lydia Mann joined Steinhouse on the base paths. After Mann stole second, Autumn Theis singled the pair home to knot the score up at 4-4.

The game moved to the bottom of the seventh still deadlocked, but Augsburg quickly got its offense started in its final turn at the plate. A single was followed by a wild pitch to move Kayla Hanson to second with no outs. A single moved Hanson up another station and she then scored on a wild pitch for the game-winning run.

Curtiss was the lone Cougar with more than one hit on the day as she went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Tori Nichols-Kraft took the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year.

Game Two: Augsburg 7, Minnesota Morris 2
Like the first game, Minnesota Morris fell behind in the first inning. Unlike the first game, the Cougars were not able to catch up at any point in the second half of the doubleheader. The Auggies strung five hits – including a pair of triples – together against Mollie Dummer (1-3) to take a 5-0 lead in its first opportunity on offense. 

The Cougars were able to pull closer in the second on an attempted double steal. Though Dummer was caught stealing at second, Grace Penke came in to make it 5-1. 

Augsburg came back with an unearned run in the bottom of the second and then extended the lead to 7-1 after a solo home run from Mackenzie Evenson in the fourth inning. 

The Cougars scored their final run in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Adrianna Johnson drew a two-out walk to force Matteya Borah home. With the bases still loaded, Sabriya Passmore (2-2) finished off her complete game by getting Mann to fly out to right field to end the game.

Theis entered the game to pitch in the first inning and went 6.0 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) while striking out three.