MITCHELL, S.D. – College of Saint Mary dropped a Great Plains Athletic Conference softball doubleheader to host Dakota Wesleyan University on Friday, by scores of 8-3 and 11-3.

"We had a strong game plan for the first game, and the ladies did a great job of executing it at the plate,'' CSM Coach Carolyn Todd Bray said. "But we struggled defensively and didn't get the job done there.''

Bray added that the field and playing conditions, with strong winds and very dry dirt, made defensive play more difficult than normal.

In the opener, the Tigers (23-6 overall, 4-0 GPAC) scored twice in the first and then three more times in the third to grab control with a 5-1 lead. Ella Watts had an RBI single in the second inning for the Flames.

CSM (2-14, 0-2) added RBI doubles in the sixth by Macy Santoni and Amber Kosmicki to trim the deficit to 6-3, but DWU pushed across two runs in the bottom of the sixth to create more separation.

Santoni, Kosmicki and Makenna Earnest were credited with two hits each in the opener.

In the second game, CSM trailed 5-2 through four innings, but the Tigers added five more runs in the fifth to break it open.

"Our defensive issues continued in the second game,'' Bray said. "I thought Megan Garcia did really well pitching, but we weren't making easy plays behind her. Offensively, we did well.''

Maria Perez and Cassie Wiseman delivered two hits each in game two, with Wiseman driving in a run. Watts and Paige Stuck also drove in runs in the second game.

However, it wasn't enough to avoid the sweep.

"It's frustrating because we just can't piece everything together right now,'' Bray said. "In our last seven games before today, we were good defensively but couldn't produce at the plate. Today it was the opposite.

"I believe in our team and the talent on this team. But we've got to find a way to win games.''

The Flames' doubleheader at Morningside University on Saturday has been postponed. Instead, they will play Bellevue University in a single game at Omaha South at 1 p.m. on Saturday.