ROCHESTER, Minn. – The St. Olaf College softball team won game one by a 10-4 score before UW-Eau Claire took game two, 6-2, in a doubleheader split on Saturday afternoon at the Rochester Regional Dome.

St. Olaf (3-3) got big games at the plate from senior Maya Patty and junior Shreya Ashok while putting together four multi-run innings to win the opener, but UW-Eau Claire (3-3) bounced back in game two to gain a split. The two teams were meeting for the second-straight weekend after the Oles scored 12 unanswered runs to claim a 17-13 come-from-behind victory over the Blugolds last Sunday.

UW-Eau Claire received votes in the preseason National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll released on Feb. 7.

St. Olaf 10, UW-Eau Claire 4 | Box Score

Patty and Ashok combined to go 7-for-9 with five runs scored and four RBI at the top of the lineup to lead St. Olaf to the game-one win. Junior Hannah Peschel and senior Andrea Conway each drove in two runs in the game as well.

Patty recorded her first-career four-hit game, going 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and a career-high four RBI, while Ashok was 3-for-4 with three runs scored for the Oles. Fifth-year senior Tarah DeCroock reached base three times out of the number nine spot with a 2-for-3 game at the plate that included a double, a walk, and two runs scored.

Junior Jaelyn Orth registered her second victory of the season for St. Olaf, limiting UW-Eau Claire to five hits and four runs (two earned) with three walks and eight strikeouts. Orth has gone the distance in each of her three starts in the circle this season.

After the Blugolds got on the board in the first half inning, the Oles scored twice in the bottom of the first, getting runs on an RBI double by Patty and a UW-Eau Claire error to plate two unearned runs. The Blugolds evened the game at 2-2 in the top of the second, but St. Olaf answered again with a multi-run inning, scoring three times by stringing together five consecutive two-out hits.

After coming to bat with the bases loaded and two outs, Peschel doubled in Patty and Ashok to break the 2-2 tie before Conway followed with a single up the middle to bring home sophomore Medora Rylee to stretch the Oles' lead to 5-2. The scoring quieted down in the middle innings before St. Olaf scored three times in the fifth to extend its lead to 8-3 after five.

In a 5-3 game, Patty delivered a two-run single up the middle with the bases loaded and nobody out to start the scoring in the bottom of the fifth and Conway drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to cap the three-run frame. The Oles added two more runs in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Patty and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rylee before the Blugolds got a run in their final inning at the plate.

Starting with the final out in the third, Orth retired 12 batters in a row before three-straight UW-Eau Claire batters reached with two outs in the seventh, but the junior got the final out to collect the 13th victory of her career with her 10th collegiate complete game. Madi Zerr suffered the loss for UW-Eau Claire after giving up seven runs (four earned) on nine hits over four-plus innings.

UW-Eau Claire 6, St. Olaf 2 | Box Score

St. Olaf got out to a 2-1 lead in the middle innings before UW-Eau Claire scored the game's final five runs to salvage the split. The Oles outhit the Blugolds by a 10-8 margin in the game but left 12 runners on base in the loss.

Ashok, sophomore Amelia Christenson, and junior Jenna Peschel had two hits apiece for St. Olaf. Peschel also went the distance in the circle, allowing just two earned runs (six runs) on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts over the six-inning complete game.

UW-Eau Claire got on the board first in the bottom of the first, but St. Olaf answered with two runs in the next half inning to take the lead. The Oles strung together three-straight two-out hits, including RBI singles by Ashok and Patty to go in front.

Peschel made the lead stand until the Blugolds scored three unearned runs in the fourth, taking advantage of two Ole errors in the inning to take the lead for good. UW-Eau Claire added an insurance run on a leadoff home run by Megan Maruna in the fifth and got another on a two-out infield hit in the sixth.

Hailey Hagedorn did not allow a run after the second inning for UW-Eau Claire, scattering 10 hits and three walks with just one strikeout over the first six innings before Lauren Gamme got the final three outs.

St. Olaf wraps up its two weekends of dome games against UW-La Crosse (12 p.m.) and Luther College (2 p.m.) on Sunday, March 5.