The Marshall softball team was unable to generate enough offense on Tuesday, falling to Redwood Valley 7-2 and 9-2 in a Southwest Conference doubleheader in Redwood Falls.
"They are tough with (Samantha) Felt pitching," said Marshall head coach Jack Houseman. "She's a good pitcher and they have some experienced players."
Injuries hurt the Tigers (0-3 overall), who lost a pair of senior infielders, Hannah Wenker and Jessica Tubbs. Wenker was lost to a hand injury before the doubleheader, and Tubbs to a screaming line drive that required stitches.
"In the first inning when we lost Jessica to that line drive, it kind of shook us a bit," Houseman said. "The girls hung in there and fought throughout the game."
Marshall shuffled players around the infield in both games, trying to fill the holes left by Wenker and Tubbs.
In Game 1, the Cardinals (5-0) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after scoring five runs in the first and two in the second.
Marshall got on the board with two in the seventh when a triple by Brooke Louwagie scored Macie Louwagie, and Kelli Vanleeuwe singled to drive in the second run.
In the second game, Redwood Valley scored first, but Marshall cut the lead to two after Callie Graff scored on a ground ball to second by Miranda Fischer.
"We made it kind of interesting early," Houseman said. "I thought we were going to be able to stick with them."
The Cardinals were not done, scoring six runs over the next three innings to build a 9-1 lead. The Tigers scored their final run in the bottom of the second when Amy Welu drove in Jayme Citrowske, who got on base with a double.
The Tigers will be in action again on Friday when they travel to Morris to face Morris Area/Chokio Alberta in non-conference action.
Game 1
Marshall 000 000 2-2 2 4
Redwood Valley 520 000 x-7 7 0
M-Miranda Fischer. R-Samantha Felt. WP-Felt. LP-Fischer. 2B: R-Stephanie Jensen. 3B: M-Brooke Louwagie.
Game 2
Redwood Valley 201 222 0-9 6 0
Marshall 001 000 1-2 3 3
R-Samantha Felt. M-Maci Louwagie, Callie Graff (5). WP-Felt. LP-Louwagie. 2B: Brooke Louwagie, Jayme Citrowske; R-Stephanie Jensen.