MORRIS, Minn. - The Martin Luther College softball team won a wild second game of its doubleheader at Minnesota Morris on Tuesday to salvage a split. The Knights lost game one 11-7 before winning game two 18-16 in nine innings. 

UMM 11, MLC 7

The Cougars smashed 16 hits on the way to an 11-7 win in game one.

The two teams went back and forth early, but UMM took control with five runs in the third and fourth innings to take an 8-3 lead. 

The Knights cut into the deficit with rallies in the fifth and seventh innings, but were not able to make up the entire deficit.

Brittany Denn led MLC at the plate with three hits, three runs scored and two runs batted in. Samantha Schoch added three hits and two RBI, while Audrey Timm finished with a pair of hits and two runs scored. 

MLC 18, UMM 16 (nine innings)

The Knights held strong after UMM erased from a 10-run lead to win game two 18-16 in nine innings. 

MLC took a 15-5 lead after a nine-run sixth inning, but UMM scored eight times in the bottom of the sixth and three more times in the seventh to send the game to extra innings at 16-16.

With the teams still knotted at 16-16 in the ninth, Timm smacked a two-run home run to give MLC the lead and the win.

Denn continued her scintillating start to conference play with six hits in seven at bats. She also scored three runs and drove in three more, and bumped her batting average to .563 on the season. 

Kelsey Birschbach added four hits, three RBI and two runs scored, while Timm finished with three hits, four RBI and three runs scored. In total, the two teams combined for 52 hits (26 apiece), and all 11 players who recorded an at bat for the Knights recorded either a hit, run scored or RBI.

MLC moved to 7-11 on the season and 3-3 in UMAC play following the split. UMM moved to 13-13 overall and 4-4 in league play.

The Knights are scheduled to return to action on Thursday, April 11, when they travel to Viterbo for a doubleheader scheduled to start at 3 p.m.