Four consecutive doubles and 14 total hits did, however, have something to do with it.

Hitting was contagious for the Eagles as they came back from a 3-2 deficit early on and routed Worthington 14-4 in five innings of a Big South Conference softball game.

Thursday was also the fourth game in a row the Eagles have trailed and battled back to win. The Eagles trailed by as much as 5-3 to St. Peter on May 1, 10-5 to Owatonna on May 4 and 6-2 against Belle Plaine this past Tuesday. Trailing 3-2 to the Trojans in the second inning on Thursday was no big deal for the Eagles, who used a three-run third inning that saw four consecutive doubles off the bats of Lauren Schmiesing, Megan Brudelie, Maddi Olson and Natalie Fischer. Miley Flor’s single followed that to put the Eagles up 5-3.

“I like to give them the energy and if my at-bats are helping and all of our other team keeps supporting, hits are contagious,” Flor said. “So we just keep doing it and keep growing. The more at-bats we get, the better we’re going to get and hopefully it all just comes around in the end for us.”

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Maddi Olson slides into second during a Big South Conference softball game against Worthington on Thursday at New Ulm High School.

Flor got the start in the circle and went two innings, with all three runs allowed being unearned after a second inning saw two New Ulm errors. She struck out two while allowing four hits and two walks during her two innings. After Megan Brudelie pitched the remaining three innings and got the win, striking out six while allowing one unearned run on two hits and a walk.

While Flor let the circle, she stayed active in the batter’s box and finished going 3 for 4 with four RBIs. She also nearly had a home run to left that hit off the fence.

Olson had a big day at the plate and in the field with two putouts and a couple of key throw-ins from the outfield to save runs. She finished her day at the plate going 3 for 3 with a double and three RBIs.

Olson, who joined the Eagles softball team this season for her senior year, has been building confidence as the season has progressed and Thursday’s game was certainly a highlight.

“When we started off a little rough, I just knew we had to get it going right away and finish it off,” Olson said. “When I went up to the plate, I was just like, ‘Let’s just show them what we’ve been doing, because they know what we’ve done in the last games.’ We knew we could carry it through this one. It just took us a little bit to get started, but once we got going, we were good.”

Schmiesing went 2 for 2 with two doubles, two RBIs, a walk and a hit by pitch while scoring three runs. Brudelie went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and a walk.

The Trojans sent four pitchers to the circle, with starter Bria Steves taking the loss in three innings of work. She allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out two.

The Eagles got two runs in the first when Gracie Baker led off with a single before swiping second and third. Lily Poehler walked and promptly stole second before Schmiesing was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A popout didn’t hurt the Eagles as Olson had a sac fly to left and an error brought home the second run for a 2-0 lead.

Worthington took the lead in the second thanks in large part to two errors, one leading to two runs directly. Macie Mahlberg added an RBI single in that inning also.

After a quiet bottom of the second, the Eagles brought the big bats in the third. Schmiesing led off with a double before Brudelie doubled her in to make it 3-3. Brudelie got caught after rounding second with her double and was tagged out back at second, but Olson kept the hits coming with a double to center field before Fischer doubled to center for a 4-3 lead. Flor singled to right for a 5-3 lead.

New Ulm batted around in the fourth, getting a leadoff single from Zoe Uhde. A walk to Baker was followed with a fielder’s choice by Poehler that saw Uhde out at third. Schmiesing doubled for the second time of the day to score two more New Ulm runs after that, however, and a walk by Brudelie was followed with an RBI single to left by Olson. Fischer walked to keep the bases busy before Flor got a hold of a pitch and sent it deep to left and off the fence to score two more. An error at shortstop scored the final New Ulm run of the inning and made it 11-3.

In the fifth, Poehler led off with an infield single and stole second before a walk to Schmiesing and stolen bases by both players was followed with an RBI single by Brudelie. Olson had an infield single to score another run. After a groundout, Flor singled to left to end the game early due to the 10-run lead rule.

Brudelie and Flor have split time in the circle this season, often times in the same game, and it’s worked for the Eagles. As both pitchers have continued to gain skill and confidence, Flor said she’s been happy to have another teammate step up and assist her when called upon.

“It’s really good to know that I have another teammate that is able to go out there for the team and be able to hold it down when I’m not,” Flor said. “I give all of my credit to my entire team for making plays when they are there. Yeah, we’re gonna make mistakes, but that’s how we learn and it’s better to learn now than learn later in the season.”

After the game, the Eagles not only celebrated the win, but they also celebrated teammate Shelby Serbus’ birthday by singing to her.

New Ulm, now 9-3 overall and 7-2 in the Big South, plays in the Mankato East Invite at Caswell Park on Friday and Saturday.