The Northland College softball team split a pair of games Sunday to finish up at 3-1 in the UMAC Crossover. The LumberJills fell to UM-Morris 9-8 in eight inning and topped Martin Luther College 9-6.

Northland started the Morris game with a bang as Kaitlyn Witthun led off the game with a home run. Jayna Loy followed with another home run to give the Jills an early 2-0 lead. Morris tied the game in the second inning However the Jills again grabbed a two run lead in the second inning with consecutive singles by Brigid Reina, Kelsey Bodart, and Witthun. Morris again quickly tied the game with two runs in the third. The Jills again gain a two run advantage in the fourth behind a two run double by Loy. After scoring a run in the fifth, Morris took the lead for the first time in the top of the seventh when the scored two to take a one run lead. The Jills forced extra innings when Witthun singled home Reina. Morris scored two in the top of the eighth and although the Jills picked up a run in the bottom of the inning off a solo home run by Averi Kanyuh they fell one run short. Northland outhit the Cougars 16-10. Loy, Witthun, and Bodart led the Jills with three hits each.

In the Martin Luther game the Knights jumped out to an early lead when they scored two runs in the first inning off just one hit. Northland cut the lead in half in the second when Carolyn Malecha singled home Reina. The LumberJills took the lead in the third inning behind a double by Loy and singles by Faye Koosmann and Kanyuh. Martin Luther closed to within a run in fifth, making the score 4-3. Crystal Diaz led off the top of the sixth with her first collegiate home run followed immediately by Malecha who also notched her first collegiate home run with a monster shot to center. The hit parade continued with doubles from Koosmann and Witthun and singles by Cassie Baumgarten and Kanyuh. When the dust settled the Jills had scored five and held a 9-3 lead. Martin Luther would rally for three in the bottom of the seventh but starting pitcher Crystal Diaz struck out Janelle Radue to preserve the 9-6 victory and pick up her first collegiate win.

"Overall I was happy with the weekend." Said Head Coach Steve Wammer, "We hit the ball very well and were within a half inning of going undefeated. We have a few things to clean up defensively, but this is a good start to the conference season"