ATLANTA, Ga. – The St. Olaf College softball team wrapped up its trip south by splitting a road doubleheader against Emory University on Wednesday afternoon at Cooper Field.

Emory (13-9) got a complete-game from Mattie Ryan in the circle to win game one, 9-1, in five innings before St. Olaf (5-13) took game two by a 5-2 score thanks, in part, to four innings of one-hit relief from sophomore Jaelyn Orth. The doubleheader marked the first-ever meetings between the two programs.

The Oles return to Minnesota and are slated to host the No. 22-ranked College of Saint Benedict on Saturday, April 22 in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at Mabel Shirley Field, weather permitting.

Emory 9, St. Olaf 1 (5 inn.) | Box Score

Emory got at least one hit from eight hitters and all nine reached base as the hosts won game one in run-rule fashion. The Eagles led 4-1 after four innings before ending the game early with five runs in the home half of the fifth.

Mattie Ryan held St. Olaf to one run on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts to improve to 11-2 on the season for Emory. She also reached base in all four of her at bats, going 2-for-2 with two walks and one RBI.

The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a hit batter, three singles, and two sacrifice flies. After loading the bases with one out but failing to score in the second, the Oles got their lone run of the game in the top of the third when sophomore Shreya Ashok singled, stole second, got to third on a single by junior Andrea Conway, and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Tarah DeCroock.

Emory got single runs in the third and fourth to stretch its lead to 4-1 before scoring five times in the fifth. After the first batter of the fifth was retired, eight-straight Eagle batters reached base, culminating in a game-ending RBI single by Natalie Costero.

Three pitchers worked in the loss for St. Olaf, with junior Kaitlyn Miller taking the loss after surrendering two runs in the first inning.

St. Olaf 5, Emory 2 | Box Score

After the two teams combined for five first-inning runs, St. Olaf held Emory scoreless over the final six innings to end its trip with a victory. Orth took over in the circle for fifth-year senior Abby Grismer in the fourth and allowed just one hit and one walk over the final four frames to pick up her second win of the season.

Offensively, Conway delivered a two-run double in the Oles' three-run first inning and Ashok, Grimser, and sophomore Hannah Peschel all had two hits in the win. Peschel helped give St. Olaf breathing room late with a sixth-inning single that brought in one run and led to a second run on one of Emory's five errors in the game.

St. Olaf's first five batters of the game all reached as the Oles put three runs on the board right away. Ashok singled and stole second before sophomore Anne Fossum drew a walk to put two runners on base for Conway, who brought them both in with a double to left center. After a wild pitch and a walk put runners on the corners, Grismer was caught stealing second intentionally to let Conway sprint home for the third run of the inning.

Emory got two of the three runs right back in the bottom of the first on a two-run home run to left by Ryan, but that was all the offense the Eagles could muster in the game. Grismer held the hosts scoreless over the next two innings before turning the ball over to Orth for the final four frames.

With St. Olaf still leading by a run, the Oles got two insurance runs in the sixth inning after the first four batters of the inning all got on base. Orth started the inning with a double before moving to third when sophomore Katie Weisheit reached on an error. Peschel followed with a single that plated Orth and Weisheit was able to come all the way around on a throwing error by the Emory pitcher.

The only hit Orth allowed was a two-out infield single that put two runners on base for the Eagles in the sixth, but the sophomore got the final four batters of the game to seal the victory. Emory managed just four hits in the game.