Box Scores: Game One | Two

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The St. Scholastica softball team earned a walk-off win to close out their second day at the Coe (Iowa) College tournament, defeating the University of Wis.-Platteville Pioneers by a 5-4 final Sunday. Earlier in the day, the Saints had fallen to the host Kohawks by a score of 5-0 in game one. 

The Saints saw their familiar nemesis on the mound in game one against the Kohawks, as the dominant Ashlee Simon took the bump for Coe after four innings of no-hit ball against CSS yesterday. Simon again struck out the side in the second, continuing to look very strong, striking out five straight batters starting in the second. 

For the Saints, #Shannen Schmidt# (Fr.-DePere, Wis.) took to the hill after earning her first collegiate victory Saturday. Much like yesterday, hitters found ways to get on-base against Schmidt, but she was able to battle and get out of her first three innings with minimal damage. The Kohawks were able to plate one unearned run during a rundown which ended the second inning. 

#Erika Solin# (Sr.-Duluth, Minn.) broke up Simon's bid for a no-hitter leading off the fourth with a bunt single, and was batted around to third, but Simon's eighth strikeout ended the inning. 

A one-out walk and a triple down the right field line led to a second run for the Kohawks in the bottom of the fourth, and a passed ball, the Saints' third error of the game, brought in the runner from third to put Coe up 3-0 before Schmidt could close the door and get out of the inning. 

The Kohawks pulled away in the fifth courtesy of a double and their fourth home run of the tournament against CSS, putting them up 5-0. Meanwhile, Simon continued putting up K's, striking out the side in the fifth for a second series of five consecutive strikeouts. 

A double by #Kristin Swartz# (Sr.-Hermantown, Minn.) down the left field line leading off the seventh gave the Saints hope of breaking up the shutout, but Simon again shut the door to earn her second shutout in as many days. 

Luckily for the Saints, they had another chance to pick up a win on the day as they took on Wis.-Platteville, and they made the most out of it. #Jen Falk# (Jr.-Altona, Man.) took the mound for the Saints and proved that yesterday's game was a blip on the radar as she looked dominant against the Pioneers. 

A pair of home runs, first by Kristin Swartz (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) in the bottom of the first, and then by Pioneer catcher Samantha Niemann leading off the fifth, were the only scoring for the first five innings as the two teams threatened but had their momentum stifled by Falk and the Pioneers' Renee Shuttler before they could plate any runs. 

The Pioneers took their first lead of the game in the top of the sixth as five straight batters reached base, plating three runs for a 4-1 lead, but the Saints proved that they had no intentions of losing this game in the bottom of the inning. Shannen Schmidt (De Pere, Wis./De Pere HS), who returned to the mound to finish out the game, walked to start the Saints threat, which was followed by a single by #Allison Spiering# (Fr.-Mounds View, Minn.), before #Merryssa Tiedeman# (So.-Zumbrota, Minn.) blasted a three-run homer, knocking Schuttler out of the game, and putting the Saints right back in it heading into the seventh inning. 

The Pioneers threatened, once again, in the top of the second, but catcher #Bonnie Kowalczyk# (So.-Menomonee Falls, Wis.) threw out an attempting base-stealer and Schmidt struck out the final batter to keep the game tied. A pair of singles followed by a wild pitch set the Saints up with runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Platteville shut the door, and we headed to extra innings. 

With a runner placed on second base to start the inning for both teams, Falk was able to lay a ground ball towards second to push the runner to third leading off the inning. This brought Allison Spiering (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS) back to the plate for CSS, who singled down the left field line to bring in #Kali Carlson# (So.-Duluth, Minn.) for the game-winning run. 

Schmidt earned her second collegiate win and the Saints improved their overall record to 6-10 on the season with the win. With the second straight loss to the Saints, Platteville dropped to 7-8 on the season. 

The Saints return to the field for their home opener in two weeks with a Tuesday afternoon game against Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) rival Northland College at Kenwood Avenue field. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.