LA CROSSE, Wis. - The Martin Luther College softball team lost both games of its doubleheader at Viterbo University by the scores of 10-2 and 9-8 on Thursday.

VU 10, MLC 2 (6 innings)

The V-Hawks broke open a tied game with an eight-run sixth inning to win game one 10-2.

The Knights took an early 2-0 lead thanks to runs by Kelli Doell and Audrey Timm in the second inning, but VU responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game 2-2.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the sixth, when the V-Hawks took advantage of three MLC errors and sent 12 hitters to the plate on the way to eight runs in the inning.

Rebecca Pruss (5-6) started the game and pitched the first 5.1 innings for MLC, allowing all ten runs (seven earned) on 11 hits.

VU 9, MLC 8

A late MLC comeback fell short in the seventh inning as the V-Hawks completed the sweep with a 9-8 win in game two.

Megan Lemke and Doell drove in runs in the first inning to give the Knigths another early 2-0 lead, but the V-Hawks built a 9-4 lead after six innings.

The Knights rallied, however, and cut the deficit to one following an Audrey Timm grand slam that scored Jessica Friebe, Lemke and Doell. It was her second home run of the season. That was as close as the Knights could get, however, as the V-Hawks closed out the win with the final out.

Morgan Palubicki (4-10) pitched the frist 3.0 innings for MLC and allowed five runs (four earned) in defeat. Friebe led MLC with two hits in the game.

MLC fell to 13-20 on the season with the two losses. Viterbo improved its record to 20-26 with the sweep.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, April 29, when they travel to Northwestern (Minn.) for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.