New Ulm, MN - MLC baseball played the Minnesota Morris Cougars well for much of their first contest of the three-game series between the two schools, but a big seventh inning from the Cougars' bats catapulted them past the Knights for a 13-3 win in game one.

The game was scoreless heading into the top of the third, with neither team getting much at the plate until Minnesota Morris scored three runs in the inning and added another trio of runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Parker Winghart hit his second career home run on a solo shot to right field, giving the Knights a spark. MLC added another run in the inning on an error from the Cougars' outfield, and they made it 6-2.

Minnesota Morris went up 7-2 on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth, but the Knights got on the board again (7-3) with another solo home run, this time from Alex Ritter, who belted his first career homer at MLC.

Despite the pair of home runs, Minnesota Morris pushed across six runs in the top of the seventh, which began with a two-run double and concluded with a two-run homer at the end of the frame, forcing the 10-run rule.

MLC (6-16) will have two more cracks at it against the Cougars on Saturday, when they face them in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on the MLC baseball field.