DUNDAS, Minn. – Playing their final contests before a Florida spring break trip, the Carleton College softball team hosted Crown College at the nearby Dundas Dome. The Knights (4-0) swept the twin-billing against the Polars (0-4), winning 14-5 (5 inn.) and 5-3 to remain perfect on the season.
"Solid team effort today in getting two more wins," said Coach Erickson. "We're really seeing the ball well and striking it clean. It was good to get our pitching staff some experience and innings this early in the season. We hope to carry this momentum into our spring training trip."
Game One Recap
The Knights placed the ball in the hand of their ace,
Faith Hanshaw (Sr./The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands Christian Academy), for game one. She went 4.0 innings in the winning effort, her second of the season. Hanshaw conceded five earned runs and picked up a strikeout before turning the ball over to
Moira Rankin (So./Potomac, Md./Wootton), who closed the game with a scoreless fifth inning.
Offensively, there were bright spots up and down the Carleton lineup in the 14-run output.
Cassie Cunniff (Sr./Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect)
doubled to lead off the bottom of the first and came around to score on a
Laurie Avila (Sr./Sugar Grove, Ill./Oswego) groundout RBI. Cunniff hit safely and scored in all four of her plate appearances, with three doubles.
The Knights did most of their damage in the second inning. With the game tied 1-1,
Grace Colburn (Fy./Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge)
led off the frame with a single and scored the go-ahead run.
Emma Kartheiser (Sr./Oronoco, Minn./Century) capped off Carleton's seven-run second with a moonshot solo shot to left-center, the first of her season and second of her career.
Maria Lilienthal blasted a three-run homer for the visitors to respond in the top of the third, but it was not enough to overcome Hanshaw and the Knights.
Carleton tacked on six runs over their final two innings of offense, comfortably closing the door to finish the game in five innings thanks to the eight-run rule.
Game Two Recap
Bryanna Schaffer (So./San Diego, Calif./Mar Vista)
started the second game in the circle. She gave the Knights 2.0 innings before returning to shortstop, surrendering a run and striking out two. Just like last weekend, it was
Hala Soliman (Sr./Harrisburg, N.C./Lake Norman Charter) earning the win in relief of Schaffer, as she allowed two unearned runs across another 4.0 innings of work.
Crown led early after thanks to an RBI groundout from first-year shortstop Catelyn Garza in the top of the first. The Knights answered with a pair of runs in the third inning as
Cassie Cunniff batted in the game-tying run before scoring on a wild pitch to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.
Laurie Avila added an insurance run in the fourth, leading off the inning with a "little league home run" (a triple and an error).
The Polars would not be turned away, as Maliya Martinez doubled home a run to cut the lead and Lilienthal hit a sacrifice fly to score her, tying the game at 3-3 in the fifth.
Amy Chen (Jr./Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington) played hero in the bottom of the sixth for Carleton, breaking the tie with a two-run double, which plated Avila and
Emma Kartheiser. The Knights turned to
Morgan Arnold (So./Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) in the top of the seventh, who picked up the save with three groundouts to the left side of the infield.
Through four games, the Knights have six batters hitting .400 or better, and are hitting .407 as a team. Leading the charge is Cunniff, who is batting .714 from the leadoff spot with six extra-base hits, and has scored nine of the 10 times she has reached base.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will head down to Florida for their spring training. The Knights have a dozen games on the schedule in the Sunshine State before returning to Minnesota for the MIAC slate. The first two games in Florida are on Friday, Mar. 17.
