CLERMONT, Fla. – The University of Minnesota Morris softball team began the 2022 season with a pair of losses to Wentworth Institute of Technology and Nebraska Wesleyan University. The Cougars were up on WIT most of the way until the Leopards stormed back in the seventh inning for a 5-4 win. Nebraska Wesleyan then jumped ahead early and pulled away for an 11-0 victory in five innings to close out the day.

Minnesota Morris is back in action tomorrow with two games, though the start times have been pushed back due to the rain expected to come through in the morning. The current start times for UMN Morris are 3:40 p.m. (EST) against Mount Mary University and 5:50 p.m. (EST) against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

WIT 5, Minnesota Morris 4
It was a tough defeat to start the year for Minnesota Morris as WIT scored four runs in the seventh inning and a Cougar comeback in the bottom of the frame came up just short.

The first inning opened with an unearned run for WIT, but Minnesota Morris answered back with a run to leave it at 1-1. Tori Nichols-Kraft singled with one out and Autumn Theis singled to keep the inning alive with two down. A Mollie Dummer single tied it up with Nichols-Kraft racing home.

The Cougars took the lead in the bottom of the third with a lead-off single from Sierra Stevens and a ripped double down the left-field line from Nichols-Kraft for a 2-1 lead.

Dummer cruised through the fourth and fifth innings, then worked out of a jam in the sixth to keep the Leopards off the board after they had two in scoring position with just one out.

The game took a turn in the top of the seventh when WIT's Alexandra Pina worked a one-out walk and was tripled in by Jess Rowe to knot it up. That ended Dummer's day and the Leopards proceeded to tack on three more runs against Abby Wothe before Grace Penke got out of the inning.

In the final turn at the plate for the Cougars, Adrianna Johnson walked and both she and Stevens ended up scoring position with two down. Nichols-Kraft doubled again to bring both home for a 5-4 score. After Anna Athey pinch-ran and advanced to third on a wild pitch, Marissa Allen was unable to bring the freshman home as WIT escaped with the victory.

Dummer took the tough-luck loss in the game, going 6.1 innings and striking out six. Nichols-Kraft was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Stevens was 2-for-4.

Nebraska Wesleyan 11, Minnesota Morris 0 (5 innings)
Nebraska Wesleyan plated seven runs in the bottom of the first and tacked on another four in the third inning, eventually coming away with a five-inning win.

The Prairie Wolves batted around in the first inning with seven hits and a walk to take command early on. NWU collected another three hits in the third and an error kept the window open for a big inning as the game was 11-0 before Minnesota Morris got out of the frame.

Stevens and Nichols-Kraft each had a hit in the game for the Cougars, while Penke drew a walk. Johnson took the loss in the circle.