Lindsey Cudecki (So.-Chicago, Ill.) and Amber Andersen (Fr.-Chicago, Ill.) both delivered huge bases-clearing hits and the Lakeland University softball team rallied with a big sixth inning for an 11-5 win over Milwaukee School of Engineering Wednesday afternoon.

The Muskies scored nine times in the bottom of the sixth to come from behind and earn a split of its home opener and Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader. The victory came after MSOE won the first game 8-5.

Lakeland (8-12 overall, 3-3 NACC) trailed 5-2 in the second game after the Raiders had scored four times in the top of the sixth to take the lead. The Muskies had been quiet until then with just six hits through the first five innings, but suddenly caught fire and sent 13 hitters to the plate in a rousing comeback.

The first big blow came from Cudecki, who came on to pitch in the top of the sixth and was in the batting order, even as she had zero collegiate at bats in 1 1/2 years. Her first trip to the plate was a memorable one as she crushed a 1-1 pitch into the left field corner for a double that scored three runs and tied the game at 5-5.

Cudecki would come in to score the go-ahead run on a sacrifice bunt by A.J. Zickuhr (Jr.-Bettendorf, Iowa), and the hits kept coming. Meghan Etten (Jr.-Elkhorn, Wis.) singled up the middle to score Carly Brault (Sr.-Brillion, Wis.), and Lakeland soon loaded the bases for Andersen, who hit a towering fly to left center. Three runs scored on the triple, and Andersen came in to score as well after a bobble in the field.

Including a two-run single in the first inning, Andersen finished 3-for-4 with five runs batted in. Nine different players finished with a hit for the Muskies, while Cudecki picked up the win in relief with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Cudecki came on for Taylor Bush (Jr.-Waukesha, Wis.), who was on fire for five innings and struck out nine, the second most in a game in her Lakeland career, before running into trouble in the sixth.

The Muskies were plagued by errors in the first game, with four of them contributing to the Raiders' first five runs. MSOE (13-7 overall, 2-4 NACC) scored three times in the first and two more in the third in building a 5-0 lead, and Lakeland never was able to get even again.

The Muskies did scored three of their own off two MSOE errors in the fourth to close within 5-3, but the Raiders got a solo homer from Emily Snow to lead off the fifth and added two more in the sixth. Lakeland did threaten briefly in the seventh, with Etten doubling in Hailey Jester (Sr.-Salem, Wis.) and Paige Chladek (So.-Chicago, Ill.) also grounding out to score Etten.

Jester finished with two hits in the first game and four for the day, also scoring two runs. Chladek also added two hits, while Niki Saviano (So.-Orland Park, Ill.) took the loss, throwing five innings and allowing seven hits and seven runs, though just two were earned.

Lakeland returns to action Saturday when it travels to face Concordia University Chicago at noon in River Forest, Ill.