PLYMOUTH, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris softball team didn't produce a lot of offense on Friday, but the two runs that the Cougars were able to score were enough to at least secure a split in a doubleheader with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Now 3-7 on the year, the Cougars return home tomorrow to face Crown College in a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
Game One: UW-River Falls 4, Minnesota Morris 0
A lead-off triple followed by a RBI groundout in the top of the first turned out to be all the offense that UW-River Falls would need in the first game of the day. The Cougars managed only two hits against Juliana Reynolds.
Abby Wothe gave up four runs (two earned) and took the loss, falling to 0-1 on the year.
After going down in order in the first two innings, Minnesota Morris had
Carly Mahoney draw a two-out walk in the bottom of the third and followed that with a single from
Eleanore Steinhouse. UW-River Falls escaped the jam by striking out
Olivia Diver to end the inning. In the top of the fourth, the Falcons capitalized on a pair of hits and a pair of Cougar errors to push three runs across and make it 4-0.
A lead-off single from
Lydia Mann in the bottom of the fourth was UMN Morris' only other hit in the game.
Autumn Theis followed with a walk and both were in scoring position before the Falcons again got out of the inning without allowing a run.
Coming on in relief,
Adrianna Johnson was perfect over the final 3.0 innings and had a strikeout, but the Cougars could not muster anything further on offense as the Falcons closed out the first game of the day.
Game Two: Minnesota Morris 2, UW-River Falls 1
Minnesota Morris wasted no time getting on the board in the second game.
Sarah Curtiss, the second batter in the top of the first, was hit by a pitch. She then went to second on a groundout and scored on a single from Theis. The next hitter,
Tori Nichols-Kraft, doubled to center to bring Theis around and make it 2-0.
UW-River Falls had base runners throughout the game, but it took until the bottom of the third for one to score against
Mollie Dummer. After a lead-off double and a stolen base from Johanna Breyen, the Falcons scored on a RBI groundout to slice the Minnesota Morris lead in half.
That 2-1 edge would hold up the rest of the way for the Cougars. Theis came on in relief of Dummer to start the fifth inning and left the bases loaded. After that scare, UW-River Falls went down in order in both the sixth and seventh innings to bring the game to an end.
Dummer scattered six hits across 4.0 innings to earn the win and improve to 2-3. Theis went the final 3.0 innings and picked up the save. Curtiss ended 2-for-3 at the plate to lead a six-hit effort from the UMN Morris offense.
