PLYMOUTH, Minn. - The Martin Luther College softball team completed a two-day sweep of a tournament hosted by North Central University at the Plymouth Dome on Friday. The Knights defeated Finlandia (3-1), North Central (7-5) and Maranatha Baptist (7-6) Friday after winning two games against MBU on Thursday.
MLC 3, Finlandia 1
The Knights once again rode a strong performance from first-year pitcher
Rebecca Pruss to open the day with a 3-1 win over Finlandia.
Pruss (2-1) went the distance for MLC, allowing just the one run (unearned) on six hits while striking out one.
Aimee Ashman had a big game with run-scoring hits in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively.
Audrey Timm led the team with three hits, including a double in the fourth inning that scored
Megan Lemke.
MLC 7, NCU 5
MLC overcame an early deficit to defeat North Central 7-5 in the middle game of the triple header.
The Knights trailed 4-2 after three innings, but a three-run fifth inning pushed them into the lead.
Kelli Doell and Timm each had RBI hits in the inning, while
Kayla Rosenbaum added a sacrifice fly to score Timm after her run-scoring triple.
Doell, Timm and Ashman each finished with two hits in the game for MLC.
Amanda Schoch started the game on the mound for the Knights, but
Morgan Palubicki (2-1) came in relief to earn the win, allowing only one run on three hits in the final four innings.
MLC 7, MBU 6
The Knights finished the sweep by holding off Maranatha Baptist to earn a 7-6 win.
Doell (1-2) went the distance for the MLC, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and one walk. She allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to allow the Sabercats to pull within one run, but stranded the tying runner at first base to secure the win.
The Knights recorded nine hits in the game, led by three from
Amanda Schoch.
Jessica Friebe and Rosenbaum each scored two runs, while Lemke finished with two hits and two runs batted in.
MLC improved its record to 5-4 on the season with the three wins.
The Knights will return to action on Saturday, March 25, when they play Macalester in the Irish Sports Dome. First pitch of that double header is scheduled to start at 12 p.m.
