MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota Morris softball team split its two neutral-site contests for the second day running on Saturday, defeating Martin Luther College by a score of 10-8 before falling to Bethany Lutheran College, 10-1, in six innings. The results on Saturday put the Cougars at 11-18 (8-8 UMAC) on the season.

The Cougars return home for their final home doubleheader of the season on Tuesday afternoon, hosting the University of Northwestern starting at 3:30 p.m.

Minnesota Morris 10, Martin Luther 8
Minnesota Morris came from behind on three occasions to stun Martin Luther in the first game of the day on Saturday morning. Marissa Allen homered to tie the game in the sixth inning and then launched the game-winning, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh.

Following a scoreless first inning, Martin Luther took the lead on a passed ball that brought a runner home in the second inning and then scored twice more on RBI singles to center field in the top of the third to go up, 3-0.

The Cougars came back to take the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Anna Baumann and Allison Pohlmann had hits to start the frame before a Martin Luther error brought Baumann home for the first UMN Morris run. Allen then drove Mollie Dummer in with an RBI single to left, making it 3-2. With the bases loaded, Olivia Diver and Sarah Curtiss added back-to-back RBI singles to give Minnesota Morris the 4-3 edge heading into the fourth.

The Knights took the lead back in the top of the fifth with three consecutive singles to load the bases before a grand slam from Emma Berg staked Martin Luther to a 7-4 lead. 

Time was running out on Minnesota Morris, but the Cougars answered the bell in the bottom of the sixth. Sierra Stevens led off with a single and Dummer reached via an infield single and moved up on an error. With Stevens on third, Nichols-Kraft lofted a sacrifice fly into the outfield to make it 7-5. Allen then blasted a home run to leave the game level at 7-7.

In an exciting final inning of play, Martin Luther started the top half of the frame with back-to-back doubles to take an 8-7 lead before Dummer was able to escape further damage. The Cougars had Stevens reach via an error with one out and Dummer then helped her cause by knocking her in with a double to center field. Knotted at 8-8 with two outs in the inning, Allen ended it in dramatic fashion with her second home run of the game, driving in Dummer and finishing off the two-run victory.

Dummer came away with the win to go to 9-7 on the season, striking out six Knight hitters on the morning. Allen finished the game by going 4-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored. Stevens, Dummer, Nichols-Kraft, Diver, and Curtiss all had two hits apiece for the Cougars.

Bethany Lutheran 10, Minnesota Morris 1 (6 innings)
Unfortunately Minnesota Morris was unable to carry over the emotion of the earlier win into its second game of the day. Bethany Lutheran scored in five out of six innings and allowed only four hits to the Cougars to earn the victory.

The Vikings scored two runs in each of the first two innings and then tacked on a run in the third to make it 5-0. Four straight singles in the fourth inning increased the lead to 7-0 before Minnesota Morris got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Diver started things with a one-out single and moved up on a wild pitch. Following a Jasmine Jensen single to put runners on the corners, the Cougars attempted a double steal. Though Jensen was tagged out on the play, Diver was able to score to make it 7-1.

The fifth inning was scoreless for both teams, but Bethany Lutheran pulled away with a three-run sixth inning to go up, 10-1. UMN Morris went down in order in the bottom of the inning to give the Vikings the run-rule victory.