Riverland softball pitcher Bridget Bergstrom got her first collegiate win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Ridgewater.
In the first game, the 10th-ranked Ridgewater Warriors rolled past the Lady Blue Devils of Rivertand by a 15-5 margin. Overcoming an early deficit in the late game, the Lady Devils rallied for a 12-7 win.
"The team keeps improving each time out and the girls played well in the second game," Riverland coach Al Eckmann said. "We had a lot of errors in the first game and that led to a big deficit, but the fielding was a lot better in the second game. It was fun to see the team work hard and get rewarded with a win over the 10th-ranked team in the country."
Sara Sundberg took the pitching loss in the first game, but she received little help from her defense. Of the 15 runs scored by the Lady Warriors, only two of them were earned. Sundberg didn't help the cause by walking nine batters.
Despite the lopsided loss in the first game, the Lady Devils came ready to play in the late affair. Still, they had to rally from an early deficit.
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Down by a 3-2 margin in the bottom of the third, the Lady Devils rallied to score 10 runs and take control of the game. Robin Arjes had two doubles in the inning as Riverland batted around to score in double-digits.
Bergstrom was the beneficiary of all the run support and went five innings to get the win. Sundberg closed it out with two innings of scoreless relief.
With the split, Riverland improved to 3-5 in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference, South Division. There were plenty of hitting heroes on the day for the home team.
Haley Underwood collected a total of five hits in the two games. Kim Craig had a hit in each game and Arjes showed off her power stroke with another big day in the batter's box. Although she gave up 13 hits in the late game, Bergstrom didn't walk anybody in the win.
"Bridget threw strikes and it was exciting to see her get that first pitching win," Eckmann said. "The offense came to life in the bottom of the third and it was a big win."
Riverland (3-15 overall) plays a make-up doubleheader today at home against North Iowa Area Community College.
GAME ONE
RIDGEWATER 15, RIVERLAND 5
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Ridgewater .......#713#003#1#—#15#15#0
Riverland .....#005#000#0#—#5#5#7
Riverland:Haley Underwood 3-for-4, R, RBI; Robin Arjes 1-for-2, BB, RBI; Kim Craig 1-for-3.
LP:Sara Sundberg 7 IP, 15 R, 2 ER, 15 H, 9 BB, 0 K.
GAME TWO
RIVERLAND 12, RIDGEWATER 7
Ridgewater .......#210#022#0#—#7#13#0
Riverland .....#20(10)#000#x#—#12#11#2
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Riverland:Underwood 2-for-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI; Whitney Bamrick 1-for-4, 2 R, RBI; Arjes 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R; Bergstrom 2-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI; Courtney Schnaith 1-for-3, R, RBI; Craig 1-for-3, R, RBI; Rachel Donovan 1-for-3, R, RBI; Sundberg 0-for-1, 3 BB, 3 R.
WP:Bergstrom 5 IP, 7 R, 0 ER, 13 H, 0 BB, 1 K. SV:Sundberg 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K.
