ROSEMOUNT, Minn. (Feb. 26, 2009) -- The Northwestern College softball team took its first steps off the Ericksen Center gym floor and onto turf last Thursday, as the Eagles went up against the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The Eagles were defeated 3-13, 3-7 in its season-opening doubleheader.

The Stout Blue Devils bats were alive right away in the first inning with seven solid hits, ultimately producing eight runs.  Stout continued its rally with a home run in the second inning that brought three players across home plate in a four-run second inning.

The Eagles' first appearance on the scoreboard took place in the fourth inning courtesy of Ashley Olsen's (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd)  bat and an error on the field, bringing in both Jenny Kortus (Milaca, Minn./Milaca) (Milaca, Minn./Milaca) and Alyssa Borgstrom (Amery, Wis./Amery) (Amery, Wis./Amery).  NWC continued to maintain control on defense in the bottom of the inning, holding the Blue Devils to no hits or runs.

Borgstrom followed a  walk with a stolen base in the fifth inning that eventually turned into another run for the Eagles.  However, the run wasn't enough, as the game ended after five innings at 13-3 due to run rule regulations.

The second game started off strong for both teams as the score stayed tied at 1-1 until the fourth inning, when a hit and two sacrifice bunts gave the Blue Devils a 3-1 advantage. Although Northwestern was able to bring in two runs of their own in the fourth and fifth innings, the Eagles ended up losing by a score of 3-7.

As a team, the Eagles hit .333 compared to Stout's .377.

In the first game, Rhonda Morgan (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek) (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek) went 2-for-2 including a triple in the fifth inning. Four of the Eagles' six runs were scored by Borgstrom.

Northwestern leaves on Thursday, March 5 for Ft. Pierce, Florida where it will step onto a dirt field for the first time, playing 10 games in just over a week.