ST. PAUL, Minn. – Bryanna Schaffer (Fy./San Diego, Calif./Mar Vista) had six hits on the day as the Carleton College softball team earned a split with Macalester College. The Knights scored late to take the opener 3-2, but a seventh-inning rally came up just short in dropping game two, 9-8. The results keep Carleton in the hunt for a postseason berth heading into the final days of the regular season.
 
Game 1 Recap
Schaffer had her first career 4-hit game as she went 4-for-4 with RBI and the scored the game-winning run.
 
The Knights (19-16, 7-13 MIAC) scored twice in the top of the third inning. Helen Moses (So./Denver, Colo./Denver East) singled, stole second and scored on Brooke McKelvey's (Sr./West Linn, Ore./West Linn) second hit of the game. McKelvey then swiped second and scored via Schaffer's single to left field.
 
A leadoff triple in the bottom of the inning led to Macalester's (15-23, 9-13 MIAC) first run, and the Scots knotted the score at 2-2 with an unearned tally in the fifth inning.
 
After leaving the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings, Carleton broke the tie in the top of the seventh. Schaffer led off with a single to center, advanced to second on a sacrifice by Amy Chen (So./Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington), and scored on Ella Collins' (Fy./Ashburn, Va./Riverside) single to left center.
 
It was not always easy, but Logan Robinson (Sr./Alexandria, Va./National Cathedral School) made the 3-2 lead hold up as she finished off her ninth complete game of the season and improved to 9-7 with the victory. She allowed only one earned run despite yielding nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts. She stranded at least one Macalester runner in scoring position in six of the seven frames.
 
Carleton totaled 10 hits in the contest, with Moses, McKelvey, and Schaffer accounting for eight of those base knocks.
 
Game 2 Recap
Things started well for the Knights as back-to-back hits by McKelvey and Schaffer ignited a three-run top of the first inning.
 
The Scots scored six times in the bottom of the third inning, a stanza that featured four extra-base hits, including a two-run home run by Jessica Katzin.
 
Carleton responded immediately with two tallies in the top of the fourth inning. Collins scored via a wild pitch, and Moses' third hit of the day plated Laurie Avila (Jr./Sugar Grove, Ill./Oswego), who had been hit by a pitch three batters earlier.
 
Carleton reliever Hala Soliman (Jr./Harrisburg, N.C./Lake Norman Charter) allowed one run in the bottom of the frame but avoided further damage despite Macalester having the bases loaded and only one out.
 
The Scots widened their lead with two unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, tallies that ultimately proved critical as Carleton mounted another last-inning rally.
 
For the fourth time on the day and second time in this contest, McKelvey and Schaffer had back-to-back singles, and both scored on Chen's subsequent double to right field, making the score 9-7 in favor of Macalester. Collins' groundout scored Chen later in the inning, but the Knights could not scratch out another run and absorbed their third one-run loss of the last nine days.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton hosts Concordia College-Moorhead on Monday, May 2 for the final doubleheader of the regular season. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m. With a sweep, the Knights will stay alive in hunt for a berth in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs.