ROSEMOUNT, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris swept a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday at the Irish Sports Dome, defeating Concordia College-Moorhead by scores of 15-4 in five innings and 9-1 in six innings. The two victories raise the Cougars' record to 6-12 on the season.

Though weather is likely to play a part in the upcoming schedule for Minnesota Morris, the Cougars are next slated to take on Crown College in their UMAC opener on April 5 in St. Bonifacius, Minn. 

Game 1: Minnesota Morris 15, Concordia (MN) 4 (5 innings)
A home run from Olivia Diver opened the scoring in the second inning, but it was an eight-run fifth inning from the Cougars that put them over the top and paved the way to a victory in the first game of the afternoon.

After a 1-2-3 first inning from Adrianna Johnson in the bottom of the first, Minnesota Morris grabbed the lead in the top of the second. Olivia Losee singled to lead off the inning and Nevaeh Polanco walked to put two aboard. With one out, Diver blasted a ball to straightaway center and had it clip the fence and fall over for a 3-0 edge. 

One inning later, the Cougars mounted a two-out rally with singles from Tori Nichols and Losee, followed by a big hit from Polanco that nicked off the glove of the Concordia centerfielder near the fence once again. That brought two runs in and Anna Athey followed with a single to plate Polanco and make it 6-0.

The Cobbers led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run, but Johnson worked out of a jam later in the inning without allowing another run, leaving it at 6-1. The Minnesota Morris offense made up for that in the top of the fourth when Mary Landherr singled in Brenna Mahoney to restore the six-run lead.

With Johnson cruising through the bottom of the fourth, Minnesota Morris had a chance to wrap up the win early and took full advantage of the opportunity. A total of seven hits combined with two Concordia errors allowed eight runs to cross home plate for the Cougars in the inning and build a 15-1 cushion. Landherr, Polanco, and Diver all had two RBIs in the inning. Though the Cobbers were able to score three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth, it wasn't enough to press the game into the sixth inning.

Johnson went the whole way and earned the win to move to 5-4 on the season, scattering six hits and striking out three. Landherr, Nichols, and Athey all had three hits in the game, while Diver drove in five runs.

Game 2: Minnesota Morris 9, Concordia (MN) 1 (6 innings)
Morgan Wilhelm limited Concordia to just three hits in the second game of the day and the Minnesota Morris offense got rolling in the late stages to pull away for another run-rule victory.

The contest quickly moved through the early innings and was still scoreless heading into the bottom of the third. With one out in the inning, Anna Baumann got things going with a single. That was followed by singles from Sierra Stevens and Alice Wilkinson to load the bases. A Landherr single then drove in Baumann to make it 1-0.

The Cobbers scored their lone run of the game in the top of the fourth to tie the score at 1-1 on a solo home run. That, however, lasted only until the bottom of the fourth when the Concordia defense made two errors. Polanco led off with a single and moved around the bases thanks to the lapses from the Cobber defense. Stevens then deposited a ball over the fence in center to score Athey and make it 4-1 heading to the fifth.

A Landherr single and a two-run shot from Nichols immediately made it 6-1 to start off the bottom of the fifth for UMN Morris. That ended the day for Concordia starting pitcher Mallory Leitner, but reliever Lauren Staples didn't fare much better. Baumann singled with two aboard to score two more runs before the frame ended, upping the Cougar lead to 8-1. 

Wilhelm continued to mow down the Cobber hitters and actually didn't allow a Concordia hit after the game-tying home run. Back at the dish in the bottom of the sixth, Wilkinson led off with a walk and stole second before Landherr roped a line drive into left to drive in the run that made it 9-1 and finished the game early.

Wilhelm picked up her first collegiate victory and moved to 1-5 on the season, striking out seven and giving up just the single earned run. Stevens and Landherr each had three hits for the Cougar offense.