ST. PAUL, Minn. –
Emma Kartheiser (So./Oronoco, Minn./Century) belted the Knights' first home run of the season as the Carleton College softball team swept a doubleheader at Macalester College, 6-5 and 8-5.
"It was great to finally get our bats going today," said Carleton head coach
Amy Erickson. "Two well-played, well fought games. We will keep working to continue to grow and improve each day."
GAME 1 RECAP
The Carleton bats awoke from their early-season slumber as the Knights (2-8, 2-8 MIAC) opened the contest with back-to-back doubles from
Maris Daleo (Sr./Rockford, Ill./Stillman Valley) and
Trina Eichel (Jr./Alameda, Calif./Alameda).
Laurie Avila (So./Sugar Grove, Ill./Oswego) immediately followed with a RBI single in what became a 3-run top of the first inning. That outburst matched Carleton's combined scoring output from the previous five games.
Kartheiser cleared the left-field wall to begin the top of the second inning, extending the lead to 4-0.
The Scots (5-7, 5-7 MIAC) answered with single tallies in the second, third, and fourth innings. Carleton added an unearned run in the sixth, only to see Macalester tie things up at 6-6 in the bottom of the stanza.
With two down in the seventh,
Brooke McKelvey (Jr./West Linn, Ore./West Linn) singled and race home on
Cassie Cunniff's (So./Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect) triple to right center.
Faith Hanshaw (So./The Woodlands, Texas/Woodlands Christian Acad.) set down the Scots in order in the bottom of the seventh to finish out her first victory of the season and second career complete game.
Daleo and Avila both went 2-for-4 to pace the Carleton attack.
GAME 2 RECAP
Macalester pushed a run across in the bottom of the first, but Carleton immediately answered with a three-run rally in the second frame, including a key two-run single by
Reagan Wills (Fy./Longmont, Colo./Niwot).
The Knights tacked on single runs in the third and fifth innings, then scored three more times in the seventh thanks to run-scoring hits from
Madison Collins (Jr./Elmhurst, Ill./York) and
Michaela Jellsey (Jr./Yuba City, Calif./Yuba City).
The Scots put together a four-rally in the bottom of the seventh, but it was a classic case of too little, too late as Eichel went the distance in notching her first collegiate victory.
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS
Carleton will host Saint Mary's University on Wednesday, April 21. First pitch in game one is slated for 3:30 p.m.
