MANKATO, Minn. – The UW-River Falls softball team wrapped up the weekend at the MSU All-Sports Dome on Saturday, falling 4-2 to St. Olaf in the opener before dropping a 16-13 showdown to Bethany Lutheran.
The Falcons (1-3, 0-0 WIAC) will head to the Auggie Dome Games this upcoming weekend, taking on Crown College and Augsburg next Friday and Saturday.
St. Olaf 4, UW-River Falls 2
In the early matchup, The Falcons were limited to just three hits as St. Olaf capitalized on four doubles and nine total hits throughout the contest.
After two scoreless innings, St. Olaf broke through in the third with a two-RBI single up the middle to take a 2-0 lead. The Oles extended the advantage in the fifth inning when a two-run home run to left field pushed the margin to 4-0.
The Falcons answered in the sixth.
Addison Eaton led off the inning with a double to left center, and River Falls took advantage of defensive miscues to score two runs.
Lacie Lilyquist drove in a run on a fielder's choice while
Grace Gardner and
Caitlyn Kressel came around to score, trimming the deficit to 4-2.
Eaton finished 1-for-4 with a double, while Kressel and
Abby Pitts each added a hit.
Alexa Dusterhoft started in the circle, allowing four runs over 4.1 innings, while
Randi Metzler tossed 1.2 scoreless innings in relief.
Bethany Lutheran 16, UW-River Falls 13
Game two turned into a back-and-forth scoring-fest featuring 29 combined runs and 23 total hits.
Bethany Lutheran struck early with five runs in the first inning and added three more in the second to take an 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the second. The Falcons responded with a five-run second frame.
Amanda Holzhueter delivered the big swing with a three-RBI double to left center, while the Falcons chipped away to cut the deficit to 8-6.
After Bethany extended its lead to 13-6 through four innings, the Falcons hit their biggest rally of the season. River Falls went for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by RBI doubles from Lilyquist and
Alexa Dusterhoft, a two-run single from
Leah Oistad, and a two-run single from Eaton to tie the game at 13-13.
The Vikings reclaimed control in the fifth with a two-run home run and added an insurance run in the seventh. River Falls was unable to push across a run in the final three innings.
Eaton paced the offense, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and two stolen bases. Lilyquist collected two hits and two RBI, while Oistad added two hits and two RBI. Holzhueter's three-RBI double sparked the early comeback effort, and Dusterhoft contributed two hits and an RBI.
Brooklyn VanGruensven started in the circle, with
Lucy Knutson and Metzler also seeing action in relief.
