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EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Senior Jen Falk (Altona, Manitoba/W.C. Miller Collegiate (Rainy River CC))'s two-run double and complete game led the St. Scholastica softball team to a 3-1 victory over North Central College (Ill.) on Friday at the NCAA Regional Tournament at Gelein Field in Carson Park.

The Cardinals put runners at second and third in the top of the first, but Falk got a ground ball to the right side to end the inning. It was still scoreless in the bottom of the third when Kayla Jenkins (Esko, Minn/Esko HS) reached third base with two outs, but the Saints could not get her home.

Finally in the bottom of the fourth, Theresa Tauer (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) led off the inning with a double. Jordan Spiering (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS) then had a two-out base hit to through the left side and advanced to second on the throw to put runners at second and third. Falk followed, and just like she did in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament, drilled a two-run double to right center to give the Saints a 2-0 lead.

North Central put a runner on third again in the fifth, but Falk got a line out to right field, one of five putouts for Kali Carlson (Duluth, Minn/Duluth Central HS) in the game.

After Brittni Johnson (Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln HS (Northland CC)) singled to begin the bottom half of the inning, Carlson ripped a triple over the right fielder's head to score Johnson and make it 3-0 CSS.

In the sixth inning, the Cardinals once again had a runner on third base with out, but Falk nabbed a line shot right at her and doubled off the runner at third to end the threat. North Central had the tying run at the plate in the seventh and Lauren Schramm hit a towering shot to dead center field, but the ball was caught by Merryssa Tiedeman (Zumbrota, Minn/Zumbrota-Mazeppa HS) with her back up against the wall to make the final out.

Falk struck out four and allowed six hits to earn the complete-game victory. For Falk, it is her 11th win of the season. Jordan Spiering (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS) had a pair of hits to lead the Saints at the plate. This was the second NCAA Regional Tournament victory for the Saints and their first while facing elimination. The Cardinals season comes to an end with a record of 26-14.

The Saints move on to face the loser of the University of St. Thomas and Ripon College (Wis.) game to be played later today. That game will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.