MANKATO, Minn. – Junior Roxanne Ring threw a complete game and delivered a walk-off single in game two, as the St. Olaf College softball team opened its season by splitting two low-scoring games against Bethany Lutheran College and Buena Vista University on Saturday at the MSU Dome.

St. Olaf (1-1) led 2-1 through five innings in its opener before Bethany Lutheran (1-1) scored the final three runs of the game to top the Oles, 4-2. Later in the day, it was St. Olaf's turn to overcome a late deficit, as Ring capped a two-run bottom of the seventh with a run-scoring single up the middle to give the Oles a 3-2 win over Buena Vista (0-2).

St. Olaf will be back at the MSU Dome for games against the University of Northwestern (1 p.m.) and UW-La Crosse (3:30 p.m.) on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Bethany Lutheran 4, St. Olaf 2 | Box Score

Emily Meyer held St. Olaf to two hits to outduel fifth-year senior Jaelyn Orth in the circle and pitch Bethany Lutheran to the win. Sophomore Eva Hokanson gave the Oles a 2-1 lead with a two-run double in the fourth, but the Vikings scored twice in the sixth and again in the seventh to claim the win.

Meyer struck out 12 against two walks in the complete-game victory for the Vikings. Orth limited Bethany Lutheran to three runs (two earned) on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 6.0 innings for St. Olaf.

Bethany Lutheran scratched across a run in the first and had the bases loaded with one out in the second before Orth got a pair of swinging strikeouts to keep the score at 1-0. St. Olaf got both of its hits in the game in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead.

Sophomore Rylan Nakamura led off the inning with a single to center and stole second before senior Medora Rylee drew a walk to put two runners on. Hokanson followed with a line-drive double over the center fielder's head to bring in both runners.

Bethany Lutheran got two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth to go ahead for good before tacking on an insurance run in the seventh.

St. Olaf 3, Buena Vista 2 | Box Score

Buena Vista scored single unearned runs in the fourth and sixth innings to carry a 2-1 lead into the final half inning, but St. Olaf took advantage of a pair of walks to score twice in the bottom of the seventh to claim the walk-off win on Ring's game-winning single with two outs.

In addition to the walk-off single, Ring went the distance in the circle, holding the Beavers to two unearned runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Ring outlasted Grace Fuhrmann in the circle for Buena Vista, as Fuhrmann kept the Oles in check until the final inning despite walking seven.

Fifth-year senior Shreya Ashok and junior Elle Brandt had two hits apiece for St. Olaf, while Rylee drew a walk in all four of her at bats. Nakamura coaxed a pair of walks and score two of the Oles' three runs.

St. Olaf got a run on the board in the first inning on a wild pitch after three consecutive walks to Nakamura, Rylee, and Hokanson, but Buena Vista took advantage of Ole errors to score runs in the fourth and sixth to take the lead.

Needing a run to stay alive and two to win, St. Olaf filled the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh. Ashok led off with a bunt single and stole second, Nakamura walked, and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position. Rylee drew her fourth walk of the game to load the bases, but Fuhrmann got a fly out to right for the first out. Junior Madyn Singleton tied the game with a sacrifice fly to right before Ring singled up the middle to bring in Nakamura for the game-winning run.