PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Juliana Hall (Jr.-Portage, Ind.) drove in five runs on the day and Skylar Hall (So.-Negaunee, Mich.) and Makenna Hullinger (Fr.-St. John, Ind.) delivered strong pitching performances as the Lakeland University softball team defeated Alverno College twice in its first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader of the season Sunday afternoon.

The Muskies' return to play after more than three weeks off was a success as they defeated the Inferno 8-2 in the first game and then rolled to a 13-1 win in five innings in the second game. Lakeland improved to 7-4 overall this season and finally got on the field for its home opener after extensive preparation work in the morning following rain and snow the day before.

Juliana Hall went 3-for-4 in the first game and drove in a pair of runs, including an RBI single in the third inning to give the Muskies their first lead of the game at 2-1. She also added a run-scoring single in the fifth inning as Lakeland finally pulled away from the stubborn Inferno late in the opener with two runs in the fifth and four more in the bottom of the sixth.

Skylar Hall shook off a first inning in which Alverno briefly took a 1-0 lead to dominate the rest of the way and pitch a complete game to improve to 3-0 this season. She allowed four hits and two runs with 11 strikeouts, the first Muskie pitcher to register double-digit K's in a game since Taylor Bush struck out ten against Edgewood April 1, 2017.

Hannah Volom (Fr.-Portage, Ind.) also reached base and scored four times in the first game, including a single and three walks. Cheyenne Mathas (Sr.-St. John, Ind.) also went 1-for-3 and drove in two runs.

Lakeland left little doubt about the outcome of the second game, scoring 11 runs in the first inning. Juliana Hall reached on an error on a fly to right field to score Hannah Nelson (So.-Loves Park, Ill.) to get the Muskies on the board, and Jordan August (Fr.-Schererville, Ind.), Madi Johnson (So.-Vernon Hills, Ill.) and Volom all singled to drive in runs. Hall batted a second time in the inning and hit a two-run triple to score Volom and Mathas.

Hullinger breezed through four scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out two to improve to 3-1 on the season. Mathas finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored and Johnson and Taylar Miller (Sr.-Random Lake, Wis.) both added two hits each as nine different players delivered at least one hit.

Natalie Akin led Alverno (0-8 overall, 0-4 NACC) with three hits over the two games, including a solo home run in the first game. Ashley Flores and Izzy Torres added two hits each in the second game.

The Muskies are scheduled to play again Tuesday when they travel to face Wisconsin Lutheran College for a twinbill starting at 3 p.m. in Milwaukee.