ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Carleton College softball team was in position for a sweep but let a late lead slip away in the opener and had to settle for a split at St. Catherine University. The Knights dropped game one, 9-8, but claimed game two by an 8-4 margin.
Adrianna Wiggins collected four hits on the day, while
Bryanna Schaffer and
Grace Colburn belted the team's first home runs of the campaign.
Game 1
Carleton (10-8, 1-3 MIAC) did not trail until the Wildcats (9-15, 3-5 MIAC) completed their comeback with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Knights were unable to maintain leads of 3-0, 4-1, and 8-4.
Megan Smith, Wiggins, and Schaffer opened the contest with consecutive singles to spark a three-run top of the first. St. Kate's responded with an unearned run in the bottom of the frame.
The score remained 3-1 until the fifth inning when doubles by Wiggins and
Livi Peters widened the Carleton advantage by another run. In the bottom of the frame, the Wildcats tallied a trio of two-out runs, including a two-run homer by Lynae Doty that tied the game at 4-4.
The Knights seemingly seized control with a four-run top of the sixth, highlighted by Schaffer's long home run to left field. It was the third roundtripper of her career.
St. Catherine scored twice in the bottom of the sixth, then rallied for three more runs in the seventh for the walkoff victory.
Rachel Block took the loss as she went the distance for her eighth complete game of the year.
Game 2
Just as they did in the opener, the Knights pushed three runs across in the top of the first, including RBI for Schaffer and
Alyssa Maquar. Kylee Kohout went deep in the bottom of the inning, as the Wildcats tied the game at 3-3.
An RBI single by Wiggins and an error gave Carleton back a 5-3 lead in the second, with St. Kate's slicing the deficit in half with a two-out RBI double in the third.
Maquar's second RBI hit of the contest came in the fifth inning, and
Esme Song followed with a RBI groundout that gave the Knights a 7-4 advantage.
The score was unchanged until Colbrunn's leadoff home run in the top of the seventh capped the scoring. It was her first career long ball.
Sydney Trentman improved to 5-4 on the season with 6.0 innings of 1-run relief. She struck out seven and allowed four hits with three walks.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton visits Macalester College for a 4:30 p.m. doubleheader on Friday, April 12.
