NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Senior Maris Daleo (Rockford, Ill./Stillman Valley) totaled seven hits on Senior Day as the Carleton College softball team concluded the 2021 season by splitting a doubleheader with visiting Saint Mary's University. The Cardinals rallied late to take game one 6-2, but the Knights responded and captured the finale 9-1 (5 inn.)
 
Sunday concluded the playing careers for both Daleo and Anja Leitz-Najarian (Sr./Duluth, Minn./Duluth East).
 
"I'm glad out seniors were able to have a season and continue to contribute so positively to Carleton Softball," said Carleton head coach Amy Erickson. "They will leave an indelible mark on the program, helping us to a playoff appearance and the most wins in a season during their careers.
 
"I wish them all the best games in their future endeavors. They will be greatly missed on and off the field. "
 
GAME 1 RECAP
Reagan Wills (Fy./Longmont, Colo./Niwot) tripled home a run in the second inning. That nearly was enough as Ally Norton (Fy./Norfolk, Mass./King Philip Regional) limited the Cardinals (10-26, 6-16 MIAC) to only one hit over her first five innings.
 
Saint Mary's had back-to-back two-out singles in the sixth, but Norton retired Cardinal pitcher Cassie Sutor to end the inning.
 
The visitors opened the top of the seventh with two more singles, and Carleton (11-15, 8-14 MIAC) went to the bullpen. That move did not ultimately pay off as Saint Mary's went on to score six times in the inning. Norton re-entered the game and recorded the final two outs, but the damage was done.
 
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Knights got one of those runs back and loaded the bases to bring the tying run to the plate, but they could get no closer.
 
Norton (5-1) suffered her first loss of the season, permitting two earned runs over 6.2 innings.
 
Daleo went 3-for-4. Trina Eichel (Jr./Alameda, Calif./Alameda) drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh to bring home the other Carleton run.
 
GAME 2 RECAP
Saint Mary's scored its lone run in the top of the first, but Hala Soliman (So./Harrisburg, N.C./Lake Norman Charter) kept the Cardinals grounded after that. She yielded three hits—only one after the opening inning—to go along with three strikeouts and no walks in registering her third complete game of the season.
 
Madison Collins (Jr./Elmhurst, Ill./York) doubled home Brooke McKelvey (Jr./West Linn, Ore./West Linn) with the tying tally in the bottom of the first. An inning later, Wills doubled and later scored on Soliman's sacrifice fly to give Carleton a lead it would not relinquish.
 
The Knights took advantage of two errors to score five times in the third inning. Collins doubled home the first run, and Laurie Avila (So./Sugar Grove, Ill./Oswego) executed a safety squeeze to plate the next run. Both Cassie Cunniff (So./Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect) and Soliman added RBI singles during the rally, and McKelvey picked up a painful RBI when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
 
Leading 7-1 with two down and no one aboard in the bottom of the fifth, the Knights mounted their final rally of the season. Daleo ripped a single to left field, Caitlin Chu (Jr./Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph Hill Academy) walked, and Eichel singled to load the bases. Collins dropped a blooper into left field with Daleo and Chu racing home to end the contest.
 
Daleo finished 4-for-4, giving her 12 hits on the weekend. Collins went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI.