WAVERLY, Iowa - The No. 19-ranked Wartburg College softball team won a pair of games versus Simpson College on Saturday, March 27 at Lynes Field, winning both games by a score of 10-1 over the Storm.

The Knights, now 12-3 overall, improve to 3-2 during American Rivers Conference action. 

Wartburg outscored Simpson 20-2 on Saturday, invoking the eight-run rule after five innings in both games.

Eight Knights tallied at least two hits on the day, led by a pair of four-RBI performances from Lauren Frerichs and Kaci Sherwood.

As a team, Wartburg totaled six home runs, three doubles, and 17 runs batted in.

Game 1: Wartburg 10, Simpson 1 (5 inn.)
Ashley Nelson started game one in the pitcher's circle, going the distance to pick up the win and improve her record to 3-0. She allowed just one hit in five innings pitched.

The Knights notched 10 runs off nine hits, led by an eight-run fifth inning.

Leading 2-1 heading into the fifth, the Wartburg bats broke open for eight runs, including a trio of homers from Sydney Illg, Sherwood, and Ella Link. Link's first career home run came during a pinch hit at bat, a three-run dinger that ended the game and sealed the Knights' victory.

Game 2: Wartburg 10, Simpson 1 (5 inn.)
Maddie Rog moved to 5-2 on the year, pitching five innings and allowing only two hits and one earned run, striking out four.

The Wartburg offense carried its momentum into game two, scoring three runs in the first inning. Simpson committed a pair of errors while the Knights took a 3-0 lead, scoring the eventual game-winning run after Olivia Brecht came around to score after reaching on a single.

In the bottom half of the fifth, the Knights once again ended the game, claiming a nine-run advantage with five runs off four hits. 

Sherwood led off the fifth with her team-leading seventh home run of the season to give Wartburg a 6-1 lead. The Knights added four more with two outs off a Kaylie Springer RBI double and a bases-clearing double from Frerichs.

Up Next
Wartburg goes for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon at Lynes Field, hosting Simpson at 1 p.m.