Box Score Game 1 RU 9 LU 7
Box Score Game 2 RU 11 LU 10

ROCKFORD, Ill. – Rockford University scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning of the second game to come from behind for an 11-10 victory to cap a sweep of the Lakeland University softball team in a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon.

The Regents twice outlasted the Muskies in high-scoring games, also scoring a 9-7 win in the opening game of the twinbill. The games between Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opponents counted as non-conference games, with both teams playing in separate divisions this spring under schedule revisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lakeland and Rockford both scored early and often throughout the doubleheader, combining for 45 hits through the two games.

The Muskies (0-6 overall) played from behind for most of the afternoon, but appeared in position to gain a split with a rally late in the second game. Trailing 7-5 after four innings, Lakeland scored three times in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth, including a two-run homer by Ariana Brown (So.-Beloit, Wis.) to tie it in the fifth and an RBI double by Gabby Greetan (So.-Manitowoc, Wis.) later in the inning for an 8-7 lead. Hannah Nelson (Fr.-Loves Park, Ill.) added a sacrifice fly and Hannah Hornsby (Jr.-Brookville, Ind.) singled in a run to put the Muskies ahead 10-7.

Rockford scored a run in the sixth to get within two, and then put its first two runners on in the seventh before Emily Cox doubled to drive in a run and make it 10-9. A walk was followed by a bases-loaded single by Breanna Collins to tie the game, and Paige Korsan followed with a grounder on the infield that Jessica Kearns beat out at home for the winning run.

Lakeland had trouble keeping the Regents off the board in the opener, allowing the hosts to score in the first five innings. The Muskies kept fighting back, including a three-run fifth inning highlighted by Elizabeth Groonwald (Jr.-Hartford, Wis.) singling in a pair of runs and Cheyenne Mathas (Jr.-St. John, Ind.) following with a run-scoring single to cut Rockford's lead to 8-6. The Regents answered with another run in the bottom of the fifth, though, and Lakeland could only get as close as 9-7 in the seventh when Mathas reached on an error and Sabrina Wickman (Sr.-Quinnesec, Mich.) scored.

Mathas and Rockford's Collins dueled each other for the honor of the biggest day at the plate between the two teams. Mathas finished 6-for-7 over two games with a double, two runs scored and four runs batted in. Collins went 6-for-9 on the day with a double, home run, three runs scored and four RBIs.

Nelson and Juliana Hall (So.-Portage, Ind.) also added three hits each for Lakeland and Nelson drove in three runs and scored three times while playing near her hometown of Loves Park. Groonwald also recorded two hits, doubling up her collegiate career hit total coming into the day.

The Muskie are back in action again Thursday when they host the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.