Concordia University Wisconsin's Sara Rosenow hit a bloop double down the right field line in the top of the ninth inning and the Lakeland University softball team again came up just shy in a 4-3 loss Tuesday as part of a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference softball doubleheader.

The Muskies once again were plenty competitive but were defeated in both games, falling 3-1 in the opener before the loss in extra innings in the nightcap. The games were part of another doubleheader that was postponed earlier this month and rescheduled.

Lakeland (9-19 overall, 4-10 NACC) dropped to 0-7 in one-run games this season and 2-11 in games decided by two runs or less. It was hardly for lack of effort, as the Muskies received good pitching, were generally solid on defense and nearly matched Concordia at the plate, even as they struggled to put together a big inning.

Lakeland stranded 16 runners over the two games, with a number of opportunities in both games. The Muskies left nine on base in the first contest, including three in the first inning and five over the final three frames, and then stranded a runner in seven different innings in the second game.

The Muskies did score twice in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead in game two, with Niki Saviano (So.-Orland Park, Ill.) scoring on an error and Sabrina Wickman (Fr.-Quinnesec, Mich.) coming home on a wild pitch. Lakeland then answered two Falcons runs in the third with another, as Meghan Etten (Jr.-Elkhorn, Wis.) scored on a double steal.

Concordia (16-14 overall, 6-8 NACC) scored one to tie it at 3-3 in the fourth, and the rest of the game was high drama with both teams turning away the others' threats. The Falcons had runners cut down at home plate in the fourth and fifth innings and stranded the bases loaded in the seventh and eighth, while Lakeland left one runner on in each of the last five innings.

Concordia finally broke through in the ninth, as Jamie Reiser singled and Jenna Pozezinski walked, both with two out. Rosenow and Lakeland pitcher Rikki Vela (Jr.-Beach Park, Ill.) then engaged in a long battle that ended when Rosenow lifted a pop fly down the right field line just out of two Muskies, sending in the go-ahead run.

Vela was the hard-luck losing pitcher after pitching 2 1/3 innings in relief and allowing the go-ahead run. Lindsay Cudecki (So.-Chicago, Ill.) started and went 6 1/3, allowing nine hits and three runs before departing. Etten and Calie Delisi (Sr.-Oak Forest, Ill.) both had two hits each.

The Muskies also had chances in the second game after falling behind early as the Falcons scratched out single runs in the fifth, second and fourth. Lakeland got on the board in the fifth when Delisi smoked a single up the middle to score Hailey Jester (Sr.-Salem, Wis.), but runners were stranded at second and third. Two were also left on in the sixth, and another was left at third in the seventh.

Jester and Etten both had two hits each in the first game, as all six Muskies hits came from the top four in the order. Taylor Bush (Jr.-Waukesha, Wis.) pitched a complete game and allowed nine hits and three runs (two earned) with three strikeouts.

The Muskies are back on the diamond tomorrow when they travel to face Concordia University Chicago at 3 p.m.