Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran catcher Grace Onken tags out St. Clair/Loyola Addison Nicolai out at home in the first inning of a softball doubleheader Tuesday at MVL.

By Jeff Meder

sports@nujournal.com

NEW ULM — Minnesota Valley Lutheran hosted St. Clair/Loyola on Tuesday in a South Central Conference girls softball doubleheader.

SC/L won Game 1 by a score of 22-3 in four innings. SC/L took the second game 16-6 in six innings.

The Spartans scored runs in bunches and in all four innings to easily win Game 1. They scored 10 runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back. They had four singles, two doubles, four walks and one hit batter which combined for good run production. The bases were loaded twice. St. Clair/Loyola led 10-0.

SC/L picked up where it left off in the top of the second inning when it put two batters on base by walks. A bunt, an infield single, two more singles and a double produced six more runs for the Spartans.

MVL got its two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Morgan Black reached when SC/L was unable to successfully complete a third strike. A wild pitch moved Black to second and she went to third on Ashlyn Rodewald’s sacrifice. Black scored on Grace Onken’s sacrifice.

Taryn Gunderson drew a walk and scored later on Jessica Meunier’s walk.

Natalie Kasprowicz belted a double to left field with two out in the top of the third inning. Adeline Lotton walked. Payton Blount’s double brought Kasprowicz and Lotton home for two more runs for the Spartans. They led 18-2.

Madison Winkler walked and a hit-by-pitch put the next bater on base for SC/L. Paige St. Peter singled which scored two more runs. Haddie Jobe and Braxton Breezee each singled. Lotton got the big hit of the game when she smacked the ball to center field for a triple which resulted in the Spartans’ final two runs of the contest.

Katlyn Stadick took the loss in Game 1 for MVL in the circle, allowing 17 hits and striking out two.

In Game 2, the Spartans took a 9-1 lead heading into the third inning before the Chargers got four runs back in the top of the third, led by Stadick’s two-run single.

But SC/L got a run back in the bottom of the inning and ended the second game early in the sixth with a four-run sixth inning.

Karlee Prahl led the Chargers in Game 2 at the plate, going 2 for 4 with two runs scored, while Nora Otto and Black each had a hit and two RBIs. Otto pitched four innings of relief in the second game for MVL, allowing seven hits and five earned runs while striking out one.

MVL (3-11, 2-4) will travel to Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (0-6, 0-6) on Friday.