Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

The Falcons softball team needed to play its best ball of the season, and perhaps in its history on Sunday, and they did that as they won two games at the NCAA Regional Tournament played in Pella, Iowa.

The Falcons opened the day playing in an elimination game against Coe College with the loser going home. The Falcons came out with a 3-1 win over Coe College in a game that went nine innings. Then the Falcons had to beat Luther College, which had not lost yet during tourney play, to stay alive and force another game against Luther in the double elimination tourney. UWRF did that also with a 1-0 win.

The Falcons, now 34-14 overall, will play Luther College again at 11 a.m., on Monday in a winner take all contest. At stake is a berth in the NCAA National Championship series that will be played May 18-22 at the Moyer Complex in Salem, Va.

River Falls 3, Coe 1
Trailing 1-0, the Falcons scored a run in the top of the sixth to tie the game and then scored twice in the ninth to win the thrilling opening game of the day.

UWRF scored three runs on nine hits and made two errors. Coe scored one run on four hits and made one error.

Coe, a team the Falcons had beat, 2-0 on Saturday, scored its run in the third. The Kohawks used a lead off single, a sacrifice, a Falcon error and another single to score the run. Coe loaded the bases later in the inning but the Falcons got out of the inning without any more damage done.

The Falcons got a runner to third in the fourth, but couldn't get the runner home.

In the sixth Lily Buckley led off and reached first on error. Hayley Buchanan advanced Buckley to second with a sacrifice bunt. Amanda Ryder then came up with a big hit - a double to left center - to score Buckley with the tying run.

In the Falcon eighth Buchanan led off with a single to left and Ryder sacrificed her to second. But the Falcons were not able to score with the next two outs coming on a strike out and a ground out.

The Falcons scored the winning runs in the ninth. With one out Jessie Bester singled to center and Haley Selkirk pinch ran. Sarah Bohlen then singled to left to put runners on first and second. After a second out, Buchanan came through with a double to right center that scored both Selkirk and Bohlen who were off at the crack of the bat.

In the Coe ninth the first two batters were retired, but the third reached on an error. The next batter walked putting runners on first and second. But the game's final out came on a foul out.

Buchanan was 2-4 with two RBI and Ryder was 2-4 with one RBI. Bester was also 2-4.

Rose Tusa went the distance on the mound to get the win. In nine innings she allowed just the four hits - all were singles. She struck out five and walked one. Tusa threw 119 pitches and 82 were strikes. After the Falcons tied the score at 1-1 in the sixth, only two Coe batter reached base and that was with an error and a walk in the ninth. She retired 11 straight batter before the error.

River Falls 1, Luther 0
The Falcons got revenge on Luther by winning a 1-0 game - the same score that Luther beat the Falcons by on Saturday.

And, like Saturday's game when Luther scored the game's only run in the first inning, that's what the Falcons did on Sunday. And, like on Saturday, both teams had just three hits.

The Falcons bunched all of their hits in the first inning to score the game's only run. With one out Ryder singled to left center and Abbie Morris followed that with a single to right center. Ryder advanced to third on the play. Ashley Goettl then doubled down the left field line to score Ryder. Morris also tried to score on the play but was thrown out at home.

That was all the run support that Tusa needed in picking up the win - she is now 28-7. She allowed the three hits - once again all wre singles and she walked one. For the first time this year she did not strike out a batter. She threw 84 pitches and 57 were strikes. It was her 20th complete game of the year and her 11th shutout. In five games and 36 innings pitched she has allowed just 16 hits and two earned runs. She has struck out 16 and walked six.