WHITTIER, Calif. – The St. Olaf College softball team concluded its eight-game trip to California with 6-4 and 5-4 losses to Whittier College on Sunday at Palmer Field.

In the first meetings between the two programs, St. Olaf (9-7) jumped out to a 4-1 lead in game one before Whittier (15-10), which was coming off a split with No. 12-ranked Williams College, scored the final five runs of the game. Junior Elle Brandt hit a game-tying solo home run in the sixth for the Oles before the Poets won it in in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh to complete the sweep.

St. Olaf is scheduled to open Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play at home against the College of Saint Benedict on Wednesday, April 2 starting at 3:30 p.m.

Whittier 6, St. Olaf 4 | Box Score

St. Olaf scored four runs in the top of the third to take a 4-1 lead, but Whitter tallied the final five runs of the game to take the opener in come-from-behind fashion. The Oles were outhit by a 12-8 margin and left 11 runners on base in the loss.

Senior Amelia Christenson, fifth-year senior Shreya Ashok, and junior Belle Schmidt had two hits apiece to combine for six of St. Olaf's eight hits. Christenson blasted her first home run of the season – a two-run shot – in the third, while Schmidt drove in the other two runs of the inning with a single in her third multi-hit game of the trip.

Junior Roxanne Ring took a no-decision in the circle after allowing three runs on nine hits with no walks or strikeouts over 5.2 innings of work. Ring worked the first five innings before returning to the circle in the sixth after the Poets took the lead.

St. Olaf had runners on second and third with nobody out in the top of the first but did not score, eventually leaving the bases loaded after a line-drive double play led to the first two outs of the inning. Whittier filled the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the inning, but Ring limited the Poets to one run on a sacrifice fly, as sophomore Regan Zak threw out a runner at the plate to end the frame.

Ashok led off the top of the third with a single before Christenson slugged the ninth home run of her career to left to put the Oles on top. Later in the inning, Schmidt lined a two-run single into right field with the bases loaded and two outs to extend St. Olaf's lead to 4-1.

The Oles threatened to add to their lead in the top of the fifth by loading the bases with one out on two walks and a single by Schmidt, but the Poets got out of the inning with a pair of fly outs. Whittier trimmed its deficit to one with two runs in the fifth before grabbing the lead with three more in the sixth. Kiley Kraft claimed the win for Whittier, which used three pitchers in the game, by limiting St. Olaf to two hits in 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.

Whittier 5, St. Olaf 4 | Box Score

St. Olaf rallied from deficits of 3-1 and 4-3 to tie the game twice, but Whittier grabbed the one-run win on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh. Ring and Schmidt both had three-hit games in the loss for the Oles.

Ring fell a home run shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, a run scored, and an RBI, while Schmidt was 3-for-3 with one RBI. Fifth-year senior Jaelyn Orth also had a pair of hits, scored a run, and went all 6.2 innings in the circle. Orth struck out four and walked five while giving up five runs on 11 hits.

After Christenson singled with two outs, Ring drove in the game's first run with a triple down the right-field line in the top of the first. Whittier got the run back in the bottom of the inning, although Orth left runners at the corners to avoid further damage.

St. Olaf left the bases loaded in the top of the second before Whittier plated two runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-1 lead. The Oles cut their deficit in half in the top of the third when Ring doubled with one out and scored on an error by the left fielder.

Orth led off the fourth with a double, advanced to third on a bunt by Brandt, and scored on Schmidt's single to left center that tied the game at 3-3. Schmidt was thrown out at the plate to end the inning on a pinch-hit single by junior Madyn Singleton.

The Poets reclaimed the lead by taking advantage of a pair of walks in the bottom of the fourth to score a run and go up 4-3. Whittier maintained the one-run lead until Brandt homered to center with two outs in the top of the sixth for her second home run of the season.

Orth stranded runners at the corners in the bottom of the sixth to keep the game tied, but St. Olaf was unable to score in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for Whittier in the bottom of the inning. The Poets put runners on second and third with one out before Orth got the second out on a line out to first, but the next batter bounced a single through the left side to end the game.