APPLETON, Wis. -- Carli Gurholt blasted a two-run homer in the opener to lead the Lawrence University softball team to a nonconference doubleheader split with Finlandia University on Thursday at Whiting Field.
Lawrence won the opener 5-3 and Finlandia hung on to win the nightcap 2-1.
Gurholt's homer was her seventh of the season, which ties the Lawrence season record set by teammate Alex Goodson in 2007.
Emily Perish went the distance for Lawrence (6-10) in the opener to pick up the win. She allowed seven hits, struck out five, and walked four.
Lawrence grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning on Lara Wasserman's RBI single and Perish's run-scoring groundout. The Lions cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth, but Lawrence then scored three times in the fifth.
Katie Simonson drew a one-out walk, and Gurholt followed with the two-run homer to give the Vikings a 4-1 edge. Alex Goodson followed with a single up the middle and she moved to second on a groundout. A throwing error on Hillary Cheever's ground ball allowed Goodson to score and put the Vikings up 5-1.
The Lions came back to score twice in the top of the sixth, but Perish retired the side in order in the seventh to preserve the win.
Lawrence took a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the third in the nightcap. Simonson, who went 2-for-4 in the nightcap, reached on an error and went to second on a wild throw from shortstop Andrea Graves. She later scored on Goodson's single to left.
Finlandia tied it in the fourth when Jamie Bellinger hit a solo homer. The Lions took a 2-1 lead with a run in the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Graves started the inning with a walk, went to second on a sacrifice, stole third, and scored on a groundout.
Lawrence had a runner at second in the fifth but couldn't get a two-out hit to score the tying run. The Vikings also had a runner at first in the seventh with two outs, and Simonson's ground ball was headed into right field for a hit. The ball hit runner Meredith Foshag for the final out of the game.
Foshag was the hard-luck loser in the nightcap despite pitching very well. She allowed only three hits in five innings. She struck out two and walked one. Perish pitched the final two innings.
Tiffany Coppens, the loser in game one, went the distance to pick up the win. She gave up six hits, struck out five, and didn't walk a batter.
Lawrence returns to action on April 14 when it hosts St. Norbert College in a MIdwest Conference doubleheader.