NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College softball team erased a pair of deficits to claim an 11-6 victory over Martin Luther College in the opener of their doubleheader on Thursday. The momentum carried over to game two as Carleton totaled a season-high scoring output in a 16-5 (5 inn.) triumph. The victories ran the Knights' win streak to four games.
This was the most runs Carleton scored in a doubleheader since scoring 33 times against Bethany Lutheran on Feb. 25, 2017.
GAME 1 RECAP
Carleton (9-13) fell behind early as Martin Luther (10-16) scored four runs in the top of the first via a pair of two-run home runs. The hosts got two of those runs back right away thanks to four consecutive singles by
Maris Daleo (Sr./Rockford, Ill./Stillman Valley), and
Brooke McKelvey (Jr./West Linn, Ore./West Linn),
Laurie Avila (So./Sugar Grove, Ill./Oswego), and
Madison Collins (Jr./Elmhurst, Ill./York).
After Martin Luther tacked on an unearned run in the top of the fourth, Collins and
Helen Moses (Fy./Denver, Colo./Denver East) had run-scoring doubles during the three-run fifth inning that knotted the score at 5-5.
The visitors re-gained the lead via another unearned tally in the top of the sixth, but in the bottom of the frame Carleton's offense scored a half dozen two-out runs. Collins had a two-run double and Moses added a two-run triple.
After the shaky opening inning,
Ally Norton (Fy./Norfolk, Mass./King Philip Regional) did not permit another earned run and improved to 4-0 on the season.
Avila, Collins, and C
assie Cunniff (So./Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect) had three hits apiece. Moses (4) and Collins (3) combined for seven RBI—all during the fifth and sixth innings—thanks to three doubles and a triple.
GAME 2 RECAP
Carleton raced out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning, then added a single tally in the second inning and blew the game open with a nine-run third frame.
Nikki Marsh (So./Salem, Conn./East Lyme) provided a three-run double in the opening stanza, while Norton and
Alexis Walters (Jr./Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton College Prep) came off the bench to contribute RBI singles in the third inning.
Collins and Moses were on base all six times either came to the plate in this contest. Three of those were walks, as the Knights were issued 11 free passes in the contest.
Hala Soliman (So./Harrisburg, N.C./Lake Norman Charter) was the beneficiary of Carleton's highest run total of the campaign and improved to 2-2 on the season.
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS
Carleton visits Crown College for an 11:00 a.m. doubleheader on Saturday, May 8. The Knights then conclude their season with a Senior Day doubleheader against Saint Mary's University on Sunday, May 9 with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.
