MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Senior Jaelyn Orth threw a three-hit shutout and homered for the St. Olaf College softball team in a 7-0 win in game one before Augsburg University claimed a 4-3 win in game two of a doubleheader split on Thursday afternoon at Edor Nelson Field.

Orth held Augsburg (22-8, 7-5 MIAC) to three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a 91-pitch complete game in game one for St. Olaf (16-12, 7-5 MIAC), while joining senior Anne Fossum with a home run in the win. Marissa Paaaske limited the Oles to just two hits in game two, as the Auggies rallied from an early 3-1 deficit to score the final three runs and gain a split.

The split left the two teams in a three-way tie for fifth place with Macalester College in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings with 10 regular-season games remaining. St. Olaf returns to Mabel Shirley Field on Saturday, April 20 for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Hamline University. The Oles will recognize their five MIAC Championship teams between the two games on Saturday.

St. Olaf 7, Augsburg 0 | Box Score

Orth shut down Augsburg for the second shutout of her career in game one, as the Oles outhit the Auggies by an 11-3 margin. Fossum hit a three-run home run in the third and Orth added a solo shot in the sixth to power St. Olaf's offense in the opener.

Four Oles tallied multi-hit games, including junior Medora Rylee and senior Shreya Ashok out of the top-two spots in the order. Rylee was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while Ashok was 2-for-4 and scored a run. Junior Amelia Christenson was 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two RBI, while fifth-year senior Maya Patty and senior Jenna Peschel added a pair of hits.

After Orth got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the second, St. Olaf put four runs on the board in the top of the third. Peschel, Rylee, and Ashok reached base consecutively to start the third to load the bases, but Augsburg got an out at the plate on a fielder's choice for the first out. Christenson knocked in the only run Orth would need with a fielder's choice before Fosusm hit a three-run home run to right center for her first long ball of the season.

The Oles maintained the 4-0 lead until Orth hit a solo home run with two outs in the top of the sixth for her second home run of the season and the third of her career. St. Olaf added two more runs in the seventh, scoring on a double by Christenson and a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Katie Weisheit.

After giving up a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth, Orth retired the final 11 batters she faced, including a double-play grounder in the next at bat, to run her record to 5-2 on the season. The bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the second was the only time the Auggies got a runner past first base in the game.

Augsburg 4, St. Olaf 3 | Box Score

Looking for the sweep, St. Olaf scored three runs in the second inning to take an early 3-1 lead, but Augsburg got a run in the third and two more in the fourth to back Paaske's complete-game effort. Paaske limited the Oles to three runs on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts for the Auggies.

Peschel and senior Roxanne Ring had the lone hits in the game for St. Olaf, with Peschel driving in a pair of runs with her second-inning single. Ring also drew a walk to reach base in both of her plate appearances.

Ring took the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts over the first 3.2 innings for the Oles. Sophomore Madyn Singleton allowed just one hit with a pair of strikeouts in her 2.1 innings of relief.

Augsburg got on the board first with a two-out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the first, but St. Olaf tallied three runs in the next half inning to build a 3-1 lead. After two walks and a single filled the bases with one out, Fossum came in to score on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1. With runners on second and third in the same at bat, Peschel singled up the middle to score Ring and first year Eva Hokanson and give the Oles a two-run advantage.

All four of the Auggies' runs came with two outs in an inning, as Augsburg scored once in the third and twice in the fourth. With a runner on third and two outs in a 3-2 game in the fourth, Katie Manecke tied the game with a single to left and scored the eventual game-winning run on Lola Pilon's double in the next at bat. Paaske retired the Oles in order in each of the final three innings after being staked to the 4-3 lead.