Rochester, Minn. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse softball team opened its 2017 season splitting two games at the Rochester Regional Stadium and Bubble Saturday.  The Eagles fell 4-3 to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in their opener before coming back to earn a 6-5 victory over Simpson College (Iowa).

St. Thomas (Minn.) scored a run in the bottom of the first and third innings to take a 2-0 lead before UWL cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the fifth on Sydney Murphy's run-scoring single to knock in pinch-runner Megan Andes.  

The Tommies regained their two-run lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Eagles forced a 2-2 tie in the top of the sixth.  Haley Gudmundson scored on an illegal pitch to cut the lead to 3-2 and Brooke Baldwin came in on a bases-loaded walk to Brittany Baldwin. St. Thomas (Minn.) scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh with Rachel Suter coming in on a wild pitch for two outs.

Katie Klein (0-1) suffered the loss for UWL, pitching 2.1 innings in relief. She allowed one hit, one run and two walks with one strikeout.  Jessie Carignan started for the Eagles, going 4.0 innings, allowing seven hits, three runs (two earned) and one walk while striking out four.

Murphy and Ashley Lindstrom each went 2-for-3 for the Eagles.

UWL picked up its first win of 2017 with its 6-5 victory over Simpson (Iowa) Saturday afternoon. After the Storm took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Eagles scored twice in the bottom of the first, once in the second and twice in the third to take a 5-1 advantage.  Lindstrom's RBI single scored Brittany Baldwin in the bottom of the first to tie the game and Ally Perdue's bases-loaded walk scored Murphy to give UWL a 2-1 advantage. Brittany Baldwin's single in the bottom of the second knocked in Jenny Gallagher for a 3-1 lead while Kathryn VanderSchaaf and Gallagher added RBI singles in the third.

Simpson (Iowa) cut the lead to 5-4 with three runs in the top of the fourth, but UWL responded in the bottom of the inning on Murphy's double scoring Brittany Baldwin. The Storm made it 6-5 in the sixth inning, but stranded two runners on base.

Caitlyn Hughes (1-0) earned the win for UWL, pitching 4.0 innings, allowing seven hits, four runs (one earned) and one walk while striking out three. Klein picked up her first save, going 2.0 innings, allowing two hits with three strikeouts.

Brittany Baldwin went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI while Murphy and Gallagher each had two hits.

"With a lot of new faces on the roster, we were looking to find opportunities to get many of our student-athletes involved," said UWL head coach Chris Helixon.  "We accomplished that goal while playing well against two very tough opponents.  We learned a lot about ourselves and are looking forward to continuing the journey."

UWL returns to action Sunday, February 26 in Rochester facing The College of Saint Benedict (Minn.) at 6 p.m. and St. Olaf College (Minn.) at 8 p.m.