DULUTH, Minn. -- The Northwestern College softball team earned its way into Saturday's UMAC Tournament championship game, but fell short to the College of St. Scholastica 6-4 at Kenwood Field. Before the Eagles faced the Saints, they had to post a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Bethany Lutheran College in extra innings.

In the first game of the day versus Bethany Lutheran, the Eagles kept pace with the Vikings, scoring in the same second and third innings that their opponent crossed the plate in.  The Vikings took the initial lead with three runs in the second frame, but NWC started small.  Lauren Walker (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) doubled to left field to start the Eagles' rally before crossing the plate in the next at-bat as Erin Kleinjan (Avon, Minn./Holdingford) (Avon, Minn./Holdingford) hit a home run to right center to cut the lead to 3-2.

BLC added a fourth run in the top of the third, but Northwestern battled right back in the bottom half of the frame.  The Eagles' legs helped them more than their bats, as a pair of Bethany errors allowed two runners to score as the game was tied 4-4.

Northwestern took a brief one-run lead in the fourth after Alyssa Borgstrom (Amery, Wis./Amery) (Barron, Wis./Barron) scored from second on a throwing error before the Vikings equaled the score in the fifth. Neither team scored in the sixth or seventh innings, sending the end result into overtime.  Borgstrom hit a one-out double down the left field line to start things off and advanced to third on a single by Leighana Nyquist (Cokato, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato).  Jenna Ruby (Long Prairie, Minn./Long Prairie) (Long Prairie, Minn./Long Prairie-Gray Eagle) then became the hero as her sacrifice fly scored Borgstrom, giving the Eagles an open door to the conference tournament championship game.

Kelsey Timm (Iowa Falls, Iowa/Iowa Falls-Aiden) (Iowa Falls, Iowa/Iowa Falls-Aiden) threw each of the six innings for Northwestern, taking responsibility for four of the five runs.  Nyquist led the team with a 2-4 performance at the plate.

Saturday's finale was a harsh reminder of their game from a week and a half ago against St. Scholastica. NWC scored runs in both the first and second inning and led the entire way before a four-run sixth frame gave the Saints a two-run edge that stuck through the final seventh inning.

In the first inning, Northwestern had the bases loaded as Walker came to the plate. The freshman connected on a double through the left side, scoring Nyquist and Borstrom.  Ashley Olson (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) (Brainerd, Minn./Baxter) doubled down the left field line to start of the second inning for the Eagles before Nyquist picked up an RBI two at-bats later. Ruby followed with an RBI single, scoring Borgstrom in the process.

All was quiet until the bottom of the fourth frame, when St. Scholastica strung a pair of runs together from three hits to get on the board. NWC maintained a 4-2 lead until the trecherous sixth, when five hits turned into four runs for the home team. Jen Falk picked up three RBI on one play, as her double to right field gave the Saints the go-ahead run. Northwestern went three-up, three down in the seventh, and the Saints punched their ticket into the NCAA Tournament with the victory.

The Eagles kept pace with St. Scholastica in the batter's box, tallying eight hits in the game compared to nine for St. Scholastica.  Olson was in the pitcher's circle all six innings for NWC, striking out four while all six Saints runs were earned.

Borgstrom and Nyquist each collected two hits in the game, while Walker led the team with two RBI.

Northwestern's season concludes with a 20-22 overall record and a 13-8 mark in UMAC play.