BOXSCORE 1 | BOXSCORE 2 MINNEAPOLIS -- Bekka Kelly (JR, Columbia Heights, Minn.) went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, RBI and two runs scored, but her Augsburg College softball team suffered two close losses in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Macalester College on Saturday afternoon at Edor Nelson Field.

Augsburg (3-19 overall, 0-4 MIAC) was edged 1-0 in the opening game by Macalester (14-6 overall, 4-0 MIAC), and the Scots rallied for an 8-6 win in the second game. Eleven of Augsburg's 19 losses this season have been by two runs or less, including eight of its last 10 losses.

Lauren Hurley (SO, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) had two hits, including a double, and drove in three runs in the doubleheader for the Auggies, while Jenna Orth (FY, Melrose, Minn.) also had two hits.

Augsburg had just three hits in the first game -- a double by Kelly in the first inning, a single by Orth in the third inning and a single by Olivia Boerschinger (SR, Neenah, Wis.) in the fifth. Macalester pitcher Brittany Ehmann struck out seven while not walking a batter in the complete-game pitching win. The Scots scored their lone run in the fourth inning, as Ehmann singled and scored on a double by Hali Englert. Ehmann and Englert had two hits apiece for the Scots in the game.

Devon Shaut (SR, Merritt Island, Fla.) recoreed two strikeouts in five innings of pitching for the Auggies, wtih Oliva Boerschinger (SR, Neenah, Wis.) pitching two innings of scoreless relief.

Augsburg jumped out to a 3-1 lead after two innings in the second game, then rallied back with a three-run fifth inning to take a 6-3 advantage. But Macalester rallied back with four runs in the top of the sixth and another in the seventh to claim the lead for good.

A sacrifice fly by Lindsay Helbach (JR, Amherst, Wis.) and an RBI single by Hurley plated runs for the Auggies in the first inning, and Kelly singled home Orth in the second inning for Augsburg's third run. Hurley hit a two-run double and Smith hit an RBI double for the Auggies in the fifth inning.

Macalester scored an unearned run on a two-error play in the second inning, and Saraswati Wilson hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning. The Scots sent nine batters to the plate in the sixth inning, scoring four runs, with two-run singles by Erin Slater and Anna Munson accounting for the runs. An RBI double by Abby Cox plated the final run of the game in the seventh.

Amanda Eaton (SR, White Bear Lake, Minn.) started in the pitching circle for the Auggies and struck out one in five innings of work. Boerschinger took the loss in relief, with a strikeout in two innings of work. Three pitchers worked for Macalester, with reliever Miranda Stokes scoring the win and Ehmann getting the save.

Augsburg returns to MIAC play on Sunday (4/6) at 11 a.m., facing St. Catherine at Edor Nelson Field. The doubleheader was originally slated to be played at St. Catherine, but was moved to Augsburg's dome due to wintry weather. St. Catherine will be the designated home team in both games.