FORT MYERS, Fla. - One day after scoring 21 runs in a pair of wins, the Martin Luther College softball team was held to only three total runs in a pair of defeats on Saturday. The Knights lost the opener 9-3 to the US Coast Guard, and then dropped game two 9-0 to Finlandia in five innings.

US Coast Guard 9, MLC 3

The Knights dropped the opening game of the day to the US Coast Guard by the score of 9-3.

After falling behind 3-0, Brett Burger drove in Samantha Schoch to put MLC on the board in the second inning, and the Knights tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the third frame on back-to-back RBI singles by Schoch and Kylie Wolf that drove in Rebecca Doering and Brittany Denn.

The Coast Guard responded, however, with one run in the fourth inning and five more in the fifth off MLC starting pitcher Rebecca Pruss (1-2) on the way to the win.

Pruss allowed all nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits in defeat. Schoch led MLC hitters with three hits, while Doering finished with two hits.

Finlandia 9, MLC 0 (5 innings)

Finlandia scored at least two runs in each of the first four innings on the way to a 9-0 win over the Knights in five innings in game two.

The Lions scored a pair of unearned runs off MLC starter Morgan Palubicki (1-2) in the opening inning, and then added two more in the second, three runs in the third, and the final two runs in the fourth frame. 

MLC was unable to get anything going at the plate, recording five hits but not moving any runners beyond second base in five times at bat. Doering, Denn, Elena Hoffman, Kelsey Birschbach and Alison Grunke each recorded one hit.

Palubicki allowed all nine runs (six earned) on 12 hits, while the defense behind her struggled with three errors in the game.

MLC fell to 2-4 following the two defeats. The Knights will return to action tomorrow (Sunday, March 8) when it plays a pair of games in Fort Myers, Florida. MLC opens the day with a game against Rockford at 1 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m game against SUNY Canton.