University of Minnesota Morris Athletics

MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris softball team took the first game of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference series against the University of Wisconsin-Superior, 4-1, Friday evening in Morris, Minn.
 
The Cougars improve to 9-7 in conference play and 11-20 overall, while the Yellowjackets fall to 22-14 overall and 10-6 in the UMAC.
 
After two quick outs, the Cougars loaded the bases in the first inning with a hit from GingerAnn Lucas and walks from Mary Landherr and Kendra Schmitz. Minnesota Morris would leave the bases loaded.
 
The Yellowjackets took the lead in the second with a solo home run. The Cougars answered in the bottom half of the inning. Kennedy Biegler doubled to right field to get into scoring position. Leslie Murken entered as a pinch runner, and Ro Diver advanced her to third on a sacrifice bunt. Taylor Johnson tied the game with an infield single.
 
In the fifth, the Cougars loaded the bases on singles from Johnson and Olivia Losee and a walk from Lucas. Schmitz hit an infield single that scored both Johnson and Losee and advanced Lucas to third. Schmitz was caught in a rundown off the bag, allowing Lucas time to score. That would be the final run of the game, as UMM held on for the 4-1 victory.
 
Minnesota Morris totaled eight hits, with Johnson leading the way with three. Losee also had a multi-hit game with two. The only extra-base hit for the Cougars came from Biegler, who recorded a double. Schmitz led the game with a pair of RBIs, and Johnson also added a stolen base.
 
Alyssa Thornton threw a complete game to earn her seventh win of the season. The junior pitcher struck out six batters while allowing just one earned run.
 
The Cougars and Yellowjackets will wrap up the regular season Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.