OMAHA, Neb. -- The College of Saint Mary softball team dropped a pair of games to Morningside University on Wednesday afternoon at Heritage Park. Morningside picked up wins by scores of 7-3 and 8-0 in the first Great Plains Athletic Conference games of the year for the Flames.

Morningside improves to 11-16 on the year, upping their record in GPAC play to 5-1. For the Flames, they fall to 7-15 and open the league slate at 0-2.

Despite the losses, coach Carolyn Todd Bray saw some positives in the Flames' performance. "We did some things better today so we made progress. We battled all day; but we still need to do a better job, especially making adjustments at the plate."

"We'll regroup and be ready to go Saturday," when the Flames travel to Jamestown, N.D. for a GPAC doubleheader against the University of Jamestown.

Game One: Mside 7, CSM 3

The Mustangs started strong, scoring five first inning runs as they held off a late CSM rally for a 7-3 win in the opener.

Paige Stuck, Macy Santoni, and Shaylynn Campbell each enjoyed multi-hit games with Stuck going 2-for-4 with a double, RBI, and run scored while the other two, respectively, were 2-for-3 with a run scored each.

Morgan Secora launched a two-run home run in the third for a 7-0 lead.

The Flames got on the board in the third when Savannah Schewe singled home Stuck but the score remained 7-1 until the home half of the seventh.

In the final frame, Stuck chased in Campbell with a base hit up the middle and a fielder's choice from Megan Garcia allowed Macy Santoni to score on the play.

"I thought Paige Stuck, Macy Santoni, and Shaylenn Campbell all hit well for us in the first game," observed coach Bray.

Secora (7-4) fired a complete game for Morningside to earn the pitching win.

Campbell (4-7) suffered the loss for the Flames.

Game Two: Mside 8, CSM 0 (5 Innings)

Bralen Biddlecome (3-4) threw a one-hit shutout in game two as Morningside defeat College of Saint Mary 8-0 in five innings.

Mackenzi Harrel doubled home P Schuster in the top of the first providing all of the offensive support Biddlecome needed.

Morningside added two in the second on a single from Kennedy Wineland and three more in the third to push the lead to 6-0.

Sydney Griffin picked up CSM's lone hit in the fourth, a two-out single to left center.

An error and an RBI-double from Mackenna Sidzyik pushed the lead to 8-0 in the top of the fifth before a 1-2-3 home half invoked the eight-run rule.

Megan Garcia (2-8) took the loss, going the distance in the circle for CSM.

Coach Bray noted that "Savannah Schewe's defense all day was a highlight for us."