Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW ULM, Minn. – The University of Northwestern split its Thursday afternoon doubleheader against Martin Luther College to remain in the vicinity of a 60 percent winning rate in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play. The Eagles beat the Knights 6-1 before falling 5-3 in Game 2.

Lauren Silbernick (Osakis, Minn./Osakis) pitched seven solid innings for Northwestern in the twin bill's opener, yielding six hits and one earned run to the 28 batters she faced with no walks on the day.

Trailing 1-0 after the second inning, the Eagles used a four-run third frame to take the lead and never look back. UNW's three-hit spree started with an Emily Geurkink (Baldwin, Wis./Baldwin-Woodville) double before the freshman came home on a sacrifice fly from Erin Kleinjan (Avon, Minn./Holdingford). Northwestern took advantage of a defensive error during Morgan Pfaff (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove)'s at-bat, scoring three unearned runs thanks to a Maddie Pierro (Andover, Minn./Legacy) RBI double and a run-scoring single by Ellen Larkin (Excelsior, Minn./Southwest Christian).

Already ahead by three, Northwestern added single runs in both the fourth and sixth innings to solidify the eventual victory. Megan Threlkeld (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville) crossed home plate in both frames courtesy of RBI hits from Jennifer Ankrom (New Hampton, Iowa/New Hampton) and Pfaff.

Larkin boosted her season's batting average with a 3-4 performance at the plate, while Ankrom was 2-3. Both added an RBI to their season total. As a team, Northwestern hit four doubles in Game 1.

While the hits were there, the Eagles were out-scored in the second game of the day. The errors haunted UNW this go-around as only two of Martin Luther's five runs were charged to pitcher Kaia Larson (Ramsey, Minn./Meadow Creek) as being earned.

The Knights started with a run in the second inning before Northwestern matched it with a Kleinjan single that scored Geurkink in the top of the third. But Martin Luther shot right back with three runs in the fourth frame after the home team received extra life thanks to a UNW defensive blunder. The Knights added another run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single, pitting Northwestern with a 5-1 deficit to overcome in its seventh-inning at-bat.

UNW got two runs across in that seventh frame as Pierro and Colleen Feldheim (Northfield, Ill./Loyola Academy) each tallied runs batted in before the game ended with consecutive Northwestern strikeouts, leaving two runners on base.

Larson struck out one in six innings of work, allowing 12 hits along the way from the pitcher's circle.

Kleinjan went 3-4 with a bat in her hands in Game 2, with Ankrom going 2-3.

At 11-16 overall, Northwestern will wrap up its shortened week with a Good Friday doubleheader at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn., with the first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.