ATLANTA, Ga. – The St. Olaf College softball team completed a road sweep of Emory University to finish off its Spring Break trip by outlasting the Eagles, 8-7, in 13 innings on Wednesday afternoon at Cooper Field.

For the second day in a row, St. Olaf (6-12) fell in an early hole, trailing Emory (12-10) by a 5-0 margin after five innings before rallying late to send the game to extra innings. The Eagles held a 5-1 lead before the Oles scored four times in the seventh to force the game to extra innings for the third time in their last four games. In extras, the teams traded runs in the ninth and 12th innings before St. Olaf capitalized on an error to score an unearned run in the 13th to win the game.

The 13-inning game was the longest in program history for the Oles since at least 2001, surpassing a 12-inning affair against St. Catherine University on April 14, 2012, and stands as the longest NCAA Division III softball game this season.

First year Roxanne Ring earned the win for the second day in a row after holding Emory to two runs (one earned) on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts over 8.1 innings of relief. First year Madyn Singleton worked the first 4.2 innings before giving way to Ring.

St. Olaf completed a 31-hit series with 16 hits in the victory, as four Oles posted three-hit performances on the afternoon. Senior Andrea Conway was 3-for-6 with two doubles, a walk, and a career-high four RBI, while fifth-year senior Tarah DeCroock also reached base three times by going 3-for-6 with a walk, a run, and one RBI. Juniors Hannah Peschel and Jenna Peschel also had three hits apiece and combined to score three runs.

With the game still scoreless, Emory broke through with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, getting back-to-back two-out hits to plate the three runs. The Eagles tacked on two more runs in the fifth on a two-run home run by Page Nellis to open up a 5-0 cushion.

Conway got the Oles on the board with a one-out RBI double in the sixth before St. Olaf pushed across four runs in the seventh to extend the game. The Oles strung together five-straight hits in the inning, including an RBI infield single by DeCroock and a booming RBI single off the top of the wall by pinch-hitter Emma Simons to make it 5-3. Two batters later, Conway drove a single through the right side with the bases loaded to tie the game at 5-5.

Sophomore Amelia Christenson gave the Oles their first lead of the game at 6-5 with a two-out RBI double in the ninth, but the Eagles answered with a two-out RBI double of their own in the home half of the inning to stay alive. In the 12th, Conway coaxed a bases-loaded, two-out walk in the 12th to put St. Olaf back on top, only for Emory to respond with an unearned run in the next half inning.

The Oles registered the game-winning run in the top of the 13th when senior Maya Patty reached on an error, allowing Christenson to score from second. Christenson drew a walk to start the inning before moving up 60 feet on a sacrifice bunt by junior Anne Fossum. Ring set Emory down in order in the bottom of the inning, as Hannah Peschel made a highlight-reel sliding catch for the first out of the inning.

St. Olaf is scheduled to begin Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Saturday, April 1 with a 1/3 p.m. doubleheader at the College of Saint Benedict.