NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The Martin Luther College baseball team dropped both games of its non-conference doubleheader at Carleton College on Thursday by the scores of 11-5 and 2-1.

Carleton 11, MLC 5

Defensive struggles proved costly for MLC in an 11-5 loss in game one.

Carleton jumped to an early 7-0 lead after four innings, but MLC sent 11 batters to the plate in a five-run fifth inning to cut the deficit to 7-5. Jared Lindemann drove in two in the inning with a double, while Tyler Roecker, Dillon Solomon and Callahan Diersen each recorded RBI singles to score the other three runs.

Defense let the Knights down in the later innings, however, as they committed four errors in the final four frames to give Carleton five unearned runs. Andrew Mantz (0-3) started the game and allowed two runs in three innings before Diersen pitched the final three. Diersen allowed nine runs (four earned) on 10 hits in relief.

Solomon led the MLC offense with a pair of hits, one run batted in and one run scored. 

Carleton 2, MLC 1

MLC was unable to take advantage of a strong outing from Roecker in a 2-1 loss in game two.

Roecker (0-2) went the distance, allowing only two runs on five hits with four strikeouts in six innings in defeat.

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the third, Lindemann tied the game with an RBI single to score Solomon, but Carleton quickly took the lead with a run off Roecker in the third. MLC had a chance with a bases loaded in the sixth inning, but was unable to score as Carleton finished off the sweep.

MLC fell to 2-19 on the season following the two losses. Carleton improved to 9-20 with the two wins.

The Knights will return to conference play on Saturday, May 5, when they travel to Northland for a doubleheader scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m.