CLERMONT, Fla. –  The Carleton College softball team began Sunday by juggling its schedule and finished with a pair of victories, including a record-setting offensive performance. The Knights overwhelmed SUNY-Old Westbury by a 22-0 tally and added an 8-5 victory over Bowdoin College. Carleton is now 7-1 on the year, tied for the best start to a season in team history.
 
The Knights were slated to start the day by playing SUNY-Cobleskill, but the Fighting Tigers flight was delayed, canceling that contest, so Carleton pivoted and added a game against Bowdoin College for later in the day.
 
Carleton 22, SUNY-Old Westbury 0 (5 inn.)
After Carleton erupted for 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning, the Panthers—who were wrapping up their first day of games in Florida—may have wished that their flight had been delayed as well.
 
When the smoke cleared, Carleton had scored a season-high 22 runs—the third time this season that the Knights tallied at least 20 runs in a game. Following the big opening frame, the Carleton lineup pushed across three, five, and four runs in its next three turns at bat.
 
This is tied for the fourth-highest run total in program history (see chart below), it is the second-largest margin of victory, and it is the largest shutout in team annals, surpassing a 17-0 victory over St. Theresa on May 7, 1986.
 
There were numerous offensive standouts, including Emma Kartheiser (Jr./Oronoco, Minn./Century), who had a pair of triples and scored four times. Helen Moses (So./Denver, Colo./Denver East) matched her career high with four RBI from the ninth spot in the lineup.
 
Logan Robinson (Sr./Alexandria, Va./National Cathedral School) was the beneficiary of the outburst as she moved to 2-0 on the season with 4.0 scoreless frames with a career-best seven strikeouts.
 
Carleton 8, Bowdoin 5
The Knights traveled 30 minutes south for their second game of the day to face Bowdoin. The Carleton bats took a few innings to warm up, but once they did, the team pushed across five runs in the bottom of the third inning to build a 5-1 lead
 
The Bears (1-5 overall) closed to within 5-3, but the Knights answered with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth and another in the sixth.
 
Bowdoin scored two more runs in the seventh inning, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
 
Bryanna Schaffer (Fy./San Diego, Calif./Mar Vista) and Trina Eichel (Sr./Alameda, Calif./Alameda) both went 2-for-3 with two runs scored to pace the Carleton lineup.
 
Ally Norton (So./Norfolk, Mass./King Philip Regional) moved to 3-0 on the year as she lasted 4.0 innings and gave up three runs on three hits.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will face Allegheny College at 10:00 a.m. ET/9:00 a.m. CT on Monday, March 21 followed by a 12:15 p.m. ET contest against Bates College.
 
The Knights are hitting a blistering .456 as a team through the first eight games of the year. Brooke McKelvey (Sr./West Linn, Ore./West Linn) leads the way by hitting at an unfathomable .727 clip (16-for-22), easily tops among MIAC players this season.
 
Most runs scored in Carleton Softball history
Result, Score   --   Opponent   --   Date
W, 26-1 (5 inn.)   --   Bethany Lutheran College   --   2/25/17
L, 25-33 (10 inn.)  --   St. Mary's University   --   5/1/78
W, 25-9 (9 inn.)   --   Concordia University (St. Paul)   --   4/27/80
W, 22-1   --   College of Saint Teresa (Minn.)   --   4/9/81
W, 22-0 (5 inn.)   --   SUNY-Old Westbury   --   3/20/22
W, 21-5 (5 inn.)   --   Martin Luther College   --   3/19/22
W, 20-1 (5 inn.)  --   Macalaster College   --   4/18/79
W, 20-4 (5 inn.)   --   Crown College   --   2/26/22