DULUTH, Minn. – The University of Northwestern softball team battled the University of Minnesota Morris in Friday's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) elimination game, but the Eagles came up short, dropping the contest 4-2. With the loss, the 2016 season comes to an end for UNW – a year in which they finished the conference season with an impressive 11-3 record and were the No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament.

Northwestern – who ends the season 20-22 – reached the 20-win plateau this spring for the fourth time in head coach Alicia du'Monceaux's eight-year tenure.

UNW struck first, plating a run in the home half of the first when Colleen Feldheim (Northfield, Ill./Loyola Academy) drew a bases-loaded walk to score Ann Lokke (St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis).

The Cougars would score the next four runs, plating three runs in the third and adding another in the fourth.

Northwestern cut into the UMM lead in the fifth, when Feldheim posted her second RBI of the day, this time with a run-scoring single to right-center to bring Lokke home.

The Eagles were unable to muster anymore offense, dropping the contest, 4-2.

Jennifer Ankrom (New Hampton, Iowa/New Hampton) finished 3-for-4 at the plate, while Ellen Larkin (Excelsior, Minn./Southwest Christian) notched a pair of hits.

Lauren Silbernick (Osakis, Minn./Osakis) suffered the loss in the circle, allowing three earned runs in four innings of work. Meghan Schroeder (Big Lake, Minn./Spectrum) turned in her second stellar relief appearance in as many days, not allowing an earned run in three innings. The freshman didn't allow an earned run in a combined nine innings Thursday and Friday.

UNW will say goodbye to senior Morgan Pfaff (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove), who was a valuable member of the softball program both on and off the field for the last four years.  

Fans can visit www.unweagles.com to stay up-to-date with the latest softball happenings.