ST. PAUL -- While the Northwestern College softball team would have preferred to leave their home field with a pair of wins on Saturday, the Eagles settled for a split with Northland College at Reynolds Field. NWC watched the LumberJills come back from a 5-1 lead to take Game 1 before the Eagles won the second contest by eight runs.

Northwestern looked as if it had full control of the first game, taking a 2-0 lead in the third inning after Kristin Sigurdsen (Barron, Wis./Barron) (Barron, Wis./Barron) singled to left field to bring in Alyssa Borgstrom (Amery, Wis./Amery) (Amery, Wis./Amery) and Erin Wankerl (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar). After Northland posted its first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning, the Eagles answered with a three runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to back-to-back home runs over the center field fence from Sigurdsen and Briana Rodgers (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) (Monticello, Minn./Monticello).

With Northwestern leading by four, Northland posted runs over the next two innings including four in the top of the seventh to take a 7-5 advantage. While Kelsey Timm (Iowa Falls, Iowa/Iowa Falls-Aiden) (Iowa Falls, Iowa/Iowa Falls-Aiden) struggled from the pitcher's circle, her defense didn't offer much help, committing three errors in the seventh inning. A Rodgers double to center field brought in one run in NWC's half of the final frame, but the sophomore ended up on third base as the final out was made, giving the LumberJills a 7-6 victory.

Northwestern didn't leave any questions unanswered in the second contest of the day, pouring on the offense to win 10-2 in five innings due to the eight-run rule. Borgstrom was all over on both offense and defense in the game, collecting four hits and two stolen bases while making five put-outs.

The Eagles scored runs in each of the first three innings, including three in the third. Jenna Ruby (Long Prairie, Minn./Long Prairie) (Long Prairie, Minn./Gray Eagle) started Northwestern's spree in that frame with a solo home run, which was her first of the year. NWC committed only one out while crossing the plate three more times in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.

Pitching for the first time since throwing a perfect game versus Crown College on Tuesday, Ashley Olson (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) threw all five innings for Northwestern in the second contest. The senior allowed just one earned run while striking out two.

In addition to Borgstrom, several other Eagles had positive performances at the plate. Sigurdsen and Rodgers each collected three hits in the first game while Ruby was one of three players to earn two or more hits in Game 2. Sigurdsen added four RBI and two runs scored to her stat line in the first contest.

Following the split doubleheader, Northwestern ends the week with a 7-11 overall record and a 2-1 mark in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action. A tough task awaits the Eagles on Tuesday of next week when NWC will travel north to Duluth, Minn. to face the College of St. Scholastica in a 3 p.m. doubleheader. The Saints were favored to win the conference championship by the league's coaches at the beginning of the season.