LOS ANGELES – The Carleton College softball team picked up two more victories in Southern California on Thursday. The Knights bested Occidental College 6-1 in the opener then prevailed 2-1 in 8 innings to sweep the twin bill.
 
"It was a great day of ball," said Carleton head coach Amy Erickson. "The team play is really coming together. Another couple of solid outings from our pitchers and timely hitting were the difference today.
 
"We showed some real grit and determination in Game 2 to stay with our game plan," said Erickson. "Esme Song came up with a big hit and Sydney Trentman went out and then shut the door on them."
 
The Knights (6-8) had dropped four straight before their current three-game win streak.
 
Game 1 – Carleton 6, Occidental 1
Bryanna Schaffer gave the Knights the early lead, belting a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. It was her second long ball of the season and the fifth of the senor's career.
 
Carleton added to its lead with single tallies in each of the next three innings.
 
Grace Colburn drew a leadoff walk in the second and scored on Natasha Paez's triple to right field. The third inning saw the Knights use a discerning eye at the plate to score a run. A two-out single by Adriana Wiggins was followed by consecutive walks drawn by Livi Peters, Colburn, and Mia Salardino to force home a run. A two-out single by Song in the fourth was followed by an RBI double from Schaffer to give Carleton a 5-0 lead.
 
The Tigers (6-20) notched their lone tally in the bottom of the fifth with a hit batter, double, and sacrifice fly. That was Occidental's lone serious scoring threat as Rachel Block (3-4) went the distance for her sixth complete game of the season. The Carleton righthander limited the hosts to only four hits as the Tigers went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. She walked two and struck out a pair.
 
The Knights capped the scoring in the top of the seventh as Wiggins walked, stole second, advanced on a groundout, and scored on Colburn's sacrifice fly.
 
Carleton totaled seven hits in the contest, with Schaffer being the lone Knight with a multi-hit effort as she went 2-for-4 with the double, home run, and three RBI.
 
Game 2 – Carleton 2, Occidental 1 (8 inn.)
Trentman tossed a career-high 8.0 innings and traded zeros with Occidental starting pitcher Sam Alfaro for the front seven innings.
 
Alfaro stymied the Knights through the fifth inning as she faced only one batter over the minimum. Meanwhile, Trentman escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first and stranded runners at second and third in the fifth.
 
Carleton threatened in the top of the sixth, but Megan Smith lined out to left field after Song reached second base with two out.
 
After Trentman worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, Schaffer reached on an error to start the seventh, was bunted to second and advanced to third but Alfaro induced an inning-ending grounder.
 
A two-out double gave Occidental runners and second and third in the bottom of the frame, but Trentman coaxed a flyball from Philycia Pedrosa to send the game to extra innings.
 
In the top of the eighth, Song hit a two-out, two-run double to left center to chase home Jade Thatch and Samantha Rodriguez with the first runs of the game. Occidental scored once on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning, but with the tying run aboard, Trentman notched a strikeout and induced a game-ending popup.
 
Song's double was only the second hit for Carleton in the game, but it proved to be the difference against Alfaro, who pitched to contact with only one walk and one strikeout.
 
Trentman finished with five K's to go along with three walks and eight hits. She limited Occidental to a combined 0-for-6 effort when batting with runners in scoring position. Trentman has yielded only one run over her last 15.0 innings of work.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton concludes its California adventure with a 2:00p.m. PDT/4:00 p.m. CDT doubleheader at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday, March 28.