DULUTH — The Martin Luther College softball team’s winning streak ended at eight following a pair of losses at College of St. Scholastica (CSS) by the scores of 12-5 and 8-0 on Saturday.

CSS 12, MLC 5

The Saints jumped in front early and never let up as they took Game 1 12-5.

CSS scored four times in the first inning, and then added three more in the third to take a 7-0 lead.

The MLC bats woke up in the middle innings as they scored twice in the fourth and three more times in the fifth, but the Saints matched those totals to keep their lead on the way to the win.

Halley Engelbrecht finished with two hits and three RBIs. Samantha Schoch and Elena Hoffman each scored two runs.

Brett Burger (7-6) took the loss on the rubber after allowing 12 runs (nine earned) on 16 hits in six innings.

CSS 8, MLC 0 (5 inn.)

CSS held MLC to two hits on the way to completing the sweep with an 8-0 win in Game 2.

Schoch and Burger hit singles in the first two innings, but those would be the only base runners the Saints would allow as they retired the last 10 MLC batters in order.

At the plate, CSS scored once in the first inning, four times in the second, once in the fourth, and then finished the game with a pair of runs in the fifth inning off MLC starting pitcher Megan Pung. Pung (2-5) allowed eight runs (five earned) on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

MLC fell to 9-11 overall and 7-5 in UMAC play following the two losses. CSS improved to 27-3 on the season and 10-0 in league play with the two wins.

The Knights will return to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Bethany Lutheran College for a doubleheader scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.

Baseball

NEW ULM — The MLC baseball team lost both games of its doubleheader against Northland College by the scores of 6-4 and 18-5 on Saturday.

Northland 6, MLC 4

MLC rallied late, but was unable to overcome a six-run deficit in a 6-4 loss to Northland in Game 1.

The Lumberjacks led 1-0 after three innings, and took control in the fourth as MLC starting pitcher Michael Fromm walked the bases loaded, and then allowed all three runners to score to push the Northland lead to 4-0.

Northland added one run in each of the seventh and eighth frames to increase its lead to 6-0, but the Knights started to come back with one run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a single by Tony Sahatjian.

In the ninth inning, MLC loaded the bases with two outs before Joey Behm and Jonas Lindemann cleared them with back-to-back singles to cut the deficit to 6-4. The Knights put the winning run on first later in the inning, but Northland was able to escape the jam without further damage to secure the win.

Fromm (0-4) went the distance for MLC, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits while walking eight.

Behm led the Knights with three hits. Mason Cox added two hits and scored two runs.

Northland 18, MLC 5

Northland scored eight times in the first inning and never looked back as it completed the sweep with an 18-5 win in Game 2.

MLC starting pitcher Micah Larsen (0-4) struggled with command as he walked five of six batters in the opening frame before Matthew Rieger relieved him in the inning.

Sahatjian, Cox Jackson Lindemann and Caleb Heckendorf each recorded two hits apiece in the game. Jackson LIndemann drove in two of the team’s five runs.

MLC fell to 0-13 on the season and 0-8 in UMAC play following the two losses. Northland improved to 3-16 overall and 2-5 in league play with the sweep.

The Knights will return home on Wednesday, when they host North Central in a doubleheader scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m.