Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 It was the sort of comeback that can send a team on a long, successful run. For the second time in a week, the Piper softball team came up with some Meredith Field magic to win a game in its last at-bat. This time, it was a six-run explosion in the bottom of the seventh inning that lifted HU to a 10-9 win over St. Mary's in the first game of a doubleheader. Hamline won the second game as well, 6-2, to improve to 13-5 in the MIAC (20-12 overall) and inch closer to returning to the MIAC playoffs for the second year in a row. 

The day didn't start well. SMU scored three times before the Pipers even got to the plate. Aubree Douglas (pictured) started a mini-comeback with a RBI single as part of a two-run bottom of the first rally. But the Cardinals kept on hitting and took a 9-4 lead into the last of the seventh inning.

The Pipers, however, never made an out. 

Delaney Kohler started things with a double. Jamie Rubbelke followed suit, scoring Kohler. Mary-Clare Couillard singled to score Rubbelke and it was now 9-6. Amanda Orrell, who would go on to have a five hit day, singled as did Douglas, which knocked home another run. Abbie Annen singled home a run to make it 9-8. Chelsea Koehn followed with a single to load the bases.

That brought up Casey Anderson. She had already had a productive afternoon, tossing 3.2 innings of two run relief on the mound and legging it home from first base on a Kelsey McWilliams double to right. The junior ran the count to 2-0 and then singled sharply to left. Two runs scored and the Pipers had the dramatic win. 

By comparison, the second game was calmer but just as satisfying. Hamline jumped to 4-0 lead after three innings. Couillard, Orrell and Douglas -- who had three hits each in the game -- played big roles in this outburst. SMU got one run off Anderson (who earned the win)  in five innings work. She gave way to first game starter Sarah DeMars, who earned her second save iof the season. Douglas knocked in two runs for good measure with a RBI single in the sixth inning. 

By earning wins in both games, Anderson moved into a tie for fourth in the league with 12 wins. Orrell improved her batting average to .434, which ranks third among all MIAC swingers. She also moved closer to joining an elite list with 96 career hits. (Koehn has 98.)  Rubbelke also moved up the ranks ands is now tied for third in the league with 29 RBI. 

Hamline won't have long to reflect on this day. The Pipers go back at it Sunday with a conference doubleheader scheduled at Concordia in Moorhead. The games are set for a 1:00 p.m. start.