STORM LAKE, Iowa - The No. 14-ranked Wartburg College softball team opened its American Rivers Conference series at Buena Vista University Saturday afternoon, falling 5-4 in game one prior to a 15-11 game two victory.

Wartburg's overall record moves to 20-6 and 11-4 during A-R-C competition.

Buena Vista 5, Wartburg 4
Five runs for the Beavers in the third and four for the Knights in the sixth stood as game one's scoring summary.
Buena Vista scored five runs off four hits in the third, which included a three-run homer that would stand as the eventual game-winning RBI.
 
Ashley Nelson started in the pitcher's circle and went four innings, allowing five earned runs. Maddie Rog pitched in relief, disallowing any Beaver base hits in the fifth and sixth innings to allow for a possible Wartburg rally.
 
In the sixth inning, Wartburg scored four runs off three hits. After a Lauren Frerichs leadoff double, she came around to score the Knights' first run off a Kaci Sherwood single. Madison Stoaks hit a three-run home run, her first of the season to trim the BVU lead to 5-4, but it was all the offense the Knights could muster.
 
Nelson suffered the loss, her first of the season as her record falls to 6-1.
 
Wartburg 15, Buena Vista 11
After the game one loss the Knights' offense came alive to salvage the Saturday split. Wartburg plated a season-high 15 runs off 10 hits and were aided by four Beaver errors.

Most of the offense for both teams came at the beginning and end of the game. Wartburg took a 5-3 lead after the first and both teams scored six runs in the seventh.

In the first inning, Olivia Brecht notched an RBI double prior to a Tarah Wehde grand slam to put Wartburg ahead 5-0. 

Wartburg added another in the third and a pair in the fourth to claim an 8-3 advantage. Up 9-5, the Knights continued to pour on the offense with a six-run seventh, opened with a two-run homer for Jordan Swiatkowski. Stoaks followed with an RBI single and the Knights then added a pair of unearned runs to push the score to 15-5.

Buena Vista answered with a big bottom half, but the Knights escaped with a four-run margin of victory.

All but two Knights recorded at least one base hit, while Brecht and Leah Campos had two apiece. Maddie Rog earned the win to improve her record to 8-2, pitching 6.2 innings in relief.

Up Next
Wartburg the Buena Vista concludes the series tomorrow with one game at noon.