MILWAUKEE -- The Alverno College softball team fell to Carroll University, 6-0 and 13-6, in a pair of non-conference games this afternoon at its home field in Milwaukee, Wis.

After the Inferno (2-8 overall) were held scoreless by the Pioneers (8-6 overall) on just four hits in the first game, the home squad was able to find a way to hit its stride offensively in the second game with 11 hits.

"Offensively we waited too long to get things going," said Alverno head coach Heather Burtman. "We saw a lot of good pitches go by, and we normally like to be aggressive at the plate and I didn't feel like we were aggressive enough early on. If we had been more aggressive, I think we might have been able to manufacture a few more runs than we did."

Although the Pioneers kicked off the top of the first inning with three quick runs, the Inferno were able to close the gap to a 3-2 deficit heading into the third inning. Carroll answered back with eight runs in between the fourth and fifth innings to secure an 11-2 lead as the Inferno stepped to the plate at the bottom of the fifth to register a two-run rally that was later duplicated in the sixth inning. Sophomore shortstop Megan Burgess (Racine/Park) was a big part of Alverno's offensive lift, as she registered a 2 RBI double in the fifth inning. In the sixth, Burgess crushed a triple to the center field fence for another pair of RBI.

"It was great to see Megan make such great contact and for her to drive in all those RBI's," Burtman said. "We know that she's able to do that, so this should definitely be a boost for her confidence and hopefully get her rolling as we head back into conference play."

Senior catcher Rebecca Schmid (Tigerton) also put forth a solid performance at the plate in the second game, going 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.

"Bec is really hot right now offensively," Burtman said. "I've been feeling really confident that any time that she's in the batter's box that she's going to come up with a hit, get herself on base, drive in runs or whatever it needs to look like."

The Inferno tallied seven hits between the fifth and sixth innings, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Pioneers' lead, as they sealed the game with two more runs in the seventh inning and shut down Alverno on defense to pick up the win.

"I felt pretty good about our offense in the second game," Burtman said. "We certainly gave up more runs than we were able to put on the board, but I give our team credit for fighting and sticking with it in the later innings of the game to put some runs on them even though we had an offensive drought in some of those middle innings."

Junior pitcher Jessica Goetz (Milwaukee/Greendale Martin Luther) put in a hard day's work in the circle for the Inferno, pitching every inning of the doubleheader. Although Goetz picked up both losses, she retired eight batters in the first game.

Alverno will return to Northern Athletics Conference play on Thursday, April 9, as they travel to Aurora University for a doubleheader.

"Aurora is always a challenge," said Burtman of the Spartans, who were pegged to win the 2009 NAC title for the third season in a row according to the NAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. "They are the best team in our conference hands down, and we know they have excellent pitching, great hitters and play clean defense. We definitely have our hands full, but we're going to work at it tomorrow and get ready for them."

First pitch at Aurora is set for 3 p.m. in Aurora, Ill.