DUNDAS, Minn. - The Martin Luther College softball team opened its season with a pair of losses to Carleton College by the scores of 4-2 and 12-4 (six innings) at the Dundas Dome on Saturday.

Carleton 4, MLC 2

Carleton hung on following a quick MLC start to top the Knights 4-2 in game one.

The Knights opened the scoring on a Brittany Denn RBI single that scored Audrey Timm in the first inning, but Carleton came back to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning.

Timm cut the deficit to 3-2 with a solo home run in the top of the third frame, but Carleton answered with a run in the bottom of the third, and then held on to that two-run lead to secure the win.

Morgan Palubicki (0-1) started the game on the mound for the Knights and allowed four runs (two earned) on nine hits in five innings. Denn pitched a scoreless sixth frame in relief.

Timm led the Knights with a pair of hits and two runs scored.

Carleton 12, MLC 4 (six innings)

MLC scored four times in the first inning, but Carleton came back to top the Knights 12-4.

Elena Hoffman and Denn started the scoring with back-to-back RBI doubles in the first, and Brett Burger added an RBI single later in the inning to give the Knights a 4-0 lead.

Carleton took over from there, however, scoring three runs in the second inning, and then adding eight runs in the final three frames to earn the win.

Rebecca Pruss started the game for MLC and allowed four runs in four innings. Palubicki (0-2) came on in relief and allowed four runs (three earned) in 0.1 innings, while Alexis Stellick finished the game in relief and allowed four runs (three earned) in 1.1 innings of work.

Kayla Rosenbaum led MLC hitters with two hits to go with one run scored.

MLC fell to 0-2 to start the season with the two defeats, while Carleton improved to 2-0 with the wins.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, February 23, when they return to the Dundas Dome to play a doubleheader against St. Olaf. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 7 p.m.