Roseville, MN - The MLC softball team lost its final games of the 2023 regular season to Northwestern on Sunday afternoon. The Knights lost game one to the Eagles by a score of 10-0 and then fell 10-2 in the later contest.

UNW 10, MLC 0

MLC would record just two hits in the first game of the day to Northwestern, with Jordyn Heckendorf and Hannah Ott each getting a hit. Heckendorf added to her record breaking season with the single to center field. 

The Eagles took a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third, but piled on four more runs thanks to a pair of singles to take a 7-0 lead. From there, the MLC offense continued to struggle and had difficulty getting on base, as Northwestern's starting pitcher forced the Knights into multiple ground outs.

Northwestern tacked on another three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and got three more outs in the top of the fifth, to seal the game one win.

Jess Horn would go down for the loss, pitching 2.2 innings. Madison Uhlenbrauck would also return to the MLC pitching staff and threw 1.1 innings to finish off the game.

UNW 10, MLC 2

Game two saw a 5-0 lead for the Eagles through three innings of play, as the MLC bats continued to be silenced. The Knights would get their only runs of both games combined, when Lisa Hoffer singled to center field, bringing in Heckendorf and Emmalee Mindock in the top of the fifth inning. MLC looked poised to play seven innings of softball, but the Eagles had other plans and put up five more runs themselves in the bottom of the fifth. As a result, the game would conclude due to the eight run rule through five innings.

Uhlenbruack got the start and went 4.2 innings as she pitched a solid game before the Northwestern lineup solved her in the final inning.

Despite the loss, Hoffer would secure her place as the new MLC single season hit leader, piling in 54 total hits. The senior also led the Knights with a .514 batting average and  tied for first with Heckendorf in home runs (3).

As a team, the Knights finished with a record of 9-26 overall, with a 6-15 record in conference play. The Knights will return a majority of their batting lineup, including Hoffer, who will use her fifth year of additional eligibility that was given to student-athletes due to COVID.