APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University softball team dropped a pair of one-run heartbreakers to Beloit College on Sunday in a MIdwest Conference doubleheader at Whiting FIeld.
    Lawrence lost the opener 4-3 and fell 9-8 in the nightcap.
    In the first game, Ceara Larson went 2-for-4 with two doubles and drove in a run, and Mikayla Jeneske went 2-for-3 and drove in a run for the Vikings. Emilia Jackson tossed all seven innings for the Vikings, allowed five hits, struck out six and walked two. 
    Lawrence (2-11, 1-3 MWC) jumped on Beloit starter Maddy Pfortmiller in the first inning. Mary Boyle smacked a one-out double, and Larson followed with a run-scoring double and Lawrence led 1-0. Jeneske followed with a single to score Larson and moved all the way to third on a Beloit error. Jackson then executed a squeeze bunt to score Jeneske, and the Vikings were up 3-0.
    Beloit (11-5, 4-2) didn't get on the board until Emily Staypay hit a solo homer in the top of the fifth. The Bucs trailed 3-1 heading into the seventh when they scored three runs on three hits and a costly Lawrence error to take a 4-3 lead.
    Pfortmiller then retired the Vikings in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the win. She allowed nine hits, struck out nine and didn't walk a batter.
    In the nightcap, the top five hitters in the Lawrence lineup all had two hits. Jeneske was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and drove in two runs, and Jackson also went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in. Larson, Boyle and Amanda Karnatz all went 2-for-4, and Boyle and Larson both scored a pair of runs. 
    Beloit jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first against Lawrence starter Shelby Johnson, but the Vikings got a run back in the bottom half of the inning. Karnatz led off with a single, moved to third on an error and came in to score on Boyle's single to trim the lead to 3-1.
    The Vikings then grabbed the lead with three runs in the third. Larson started the frame with a double, and Jeneske followed with a double to drive in Larson. Chapin Grumhaus lined a single up the middle to put runners at the corners before Laney Martens singled up the middle to score a pair and give Lawrence a 4-3 lead.
    The Vikings got another rally started in the fourth when Boyle single and Jeneske doubled. Jackson followed with a two-run single, and the Vikings led 6-3. 
    Johnson ran into trouble in the top of the sixth when Beloit scored four times on five hits to grab a 7-6 lead. Once Beloit had the lead, they brought Pfortmiller on in relief of Cora Aubert, who gave up six runs on 11 hits in five innings. 
    The Vikings immediately struck back against Pfortmiller in the bottom half of the inning. Boyle was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and Larson followed with a sharp single to right. The ball got past Aubert, who had moved to right field, and Boyle came around to score to the game. Jeneske followed with a sacrifice fly, and Lawrence led 8-7.
    Lizzy Angemi came on in relief for the Vikings in the seventh and retired the first two batters. Beloit then scored twice on a single, two walks, a hit batsman and two wild pitches for a 9-8 edge.
    Lawrence wasn't done yet as Karnatz smacked a two-out triple against Pfortmiller in the bottom of the seventh. Boyle's fly ball to short right field was grabbed by second baseman Briana Arteaga, who fell backward to make the catch to end the game.