NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College softball team recorded its second sweep in as many home Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) doubleheaders with 2-1 and 4-0 victories over the College of St. Scholastica on Saturday afternoon at Mabel Shirley Field.

Senior Jaelyn Orth, sophomore Roxanne Ring, and sophomore Madyn Singleton combined to hold St. Scholastica (3-19, 0-8 MIAC) to seven hits in 14 innings to pitch St. Olaf (13-11, 4-4 MIAC) to the sweep. Orth and Ring combined to allow just four hits in the opener before Ring and Singleton linked up for a three-hit shutout in game two.

The Oles finish off a busy weekend with a twin bill at Saint Mary's University at 1 and 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 14 in Winona. The Cardinals are coming off a sweep of No. 10-ranked Bethel University on Saturday.

St. Olaf 2, St. Scholastica 1 | Box Score

St. Scholastica scored its lone run of the day in the second to take an early lead, but St. Olaf got two runs in the third inning and made the lead stand up to claim the one-run win in the opener. The Oles and Saints combined to leave 20 runners on base in the game, with St. Scholastica leaving nine aboard and St. Olaf stranding 11.

Orth improved to 4-2 on the season by holding the visitors to one run on four hits over 5.2 innings, working around six walks with four strikeouts. Ring retired all four batters she faced to collect her first save of the season. Ashley Matejka suffered the loss for St. Scholastica despite allowing just two runs on nine hits over the six-inning complete game.

Senior Shreya Ashok, junior Medora Rylee, and first year Rylan Nakamura had two hits apiece in the win. Nakamura picked up the first two hits of her collegiate career by going 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.

The Saints pushed across their only run of the afternoon in the top of the second. With runners on first and second and two outs, the Oles picked a runner off first base, but the runner got in a rundown to allow the lead runner to score all the way from second.

St. Olaf grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third with two runs on three hits. After Nakamura led off the inning with a single, Ashok and Rylee reached on consecutive bunt singles to fill the bases with nobody out. Senior Hannah Peschel was hit by a pitch in the next at bat to bring in a run. Junior Amelia Christenson followed with a sacrifice fly to center to plate the eventual game-winning run.

After retiring eight consecutive batters, Orth ran into trouble with one out in the sixth, as St. Scholastica used two walks and a single to fill the bases. Orth responded by getting her fourth strikeout of the game for the second out. Ring entered the game after the strikeout and induced a ground ball to Nakamura at second to get out of the jam before retiring the Saints in order in the seventh.

St. Olaf 4, St. Scholastica 0 | Box Score

St. Olaf got out to an early 3-0 lead in game two and rode the arms of Ring and Singleton to the sweep. Ring allowed just three hits and one walk with three strikeouts over the first 6.0 innings before Singleton completed the shutout in the seventh.

Eight Oles collected one hit apiece in the victory, with Rylee, Peschel, fifth-year senior Maya Patty, and senior Anne Fosusm driving in runs.

St. Olaf put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first and had three of its eight hits in the game in the inning. Ashok led off with a bunt single, stole second, got to third on a fielder's choice, and scored on a fielder's choice after Peschel dropped down a bunt. Christenson followed with a single and got to second on the throw to put runners on second and third for Patty, who singled to right center to score Peschel, although Christenson was thrown out at the plate on the play.

Ring and first year Eva Hokanson started the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles to start a threat for St. Olaf. After Nakamura advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt, Rylee drove a two-out single up the middle to score Ring and push the Oles' lead to 3-0. Fossum capped the scoring with a two-out, run-scoring double to right in the fifth after Peschel was still at second following her leadoff double.

The Saints' biggest scoring threat came in a 3-0 game in the top of the fifth, when the visitors put runners on first and third with one out on a double and an error. Ring got a grounder back to the circle and a fly ball to left to keep St. Scholastica from scoring.