DULUTH, Minn. – The Carleton College softball team split a Sunday afternoon doubleheader at College of St. Scholastica. The Knights rallied to win the opener 3-2, then attempted to comeback in game two before ultimately falling by a 6-4 tally.
Game 1 — Carleton 3, St. Scholastica 2
The Saints (6-18, 2-6 MIAC) scored a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the third, but the Knights (8-20, 2-8 MIAC) evened the score in the fourth thanks to back-to-back doubles by
Natasha Paez and
Jade Thach and a sacrifice fly from
Samantha Rodriguez.
The score remained 2-2 until the top of the sixth, when Thach smacked her second RBI double of the game and chased home pinch runner
Genevieve Lyon from first base.
Rachel Block (5-6) finished out her eighth complete game of the season for the win after scattering six singles and a walk.
Thach, making made her first collegiate start at shortstop, went 2-for-3 with the two RBI doubles. Paez and
Megan Smith also had two-hit games for the Knights.
Game 2 — St. Scholastica 6, Carleton 4
The Knights nearly pulled off their second comeback of the day, falling behind 5-1 before the ending the game with the tying runs on base.
Adriana Wiggins' first of three hits in the contest brought home Smith in the top of the first for a short-lived 1-0 advantage for Carleton.
St. Scholastica took advantage of a Carleton error to plate five runs in the bottom of the second.
The Knights got one of those run back in the third inning as Wiggins doubled with one down, advanced on a wild pitch, and came home on Block's single. Carleton closed the gap further when Wiggins scored on Block's RBI grounder in the fifth inning.
Three soft infield singles permitted the Saints to tack on a key insurance run in the bottom of the fifth despite not getting the ball out of the infield.
Tailing 6-3 heading into the seventh, Carleton loaded the bases with two out.
Ella Collins ripped an RBI single to left field to score one run, but the Knights left two others runners on base when the final out was recorded.
Sydney Trentman (2-8) took the loss, yielding three earned runs over the front 1.1 frames. Reliever
Becca Madsen tossed 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.
Wiggins matched a season high with three hits, while Smith, Block, and Collins each had base knocks.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton's road trip continues with a visit to College of Saint Benedict on Wednesday, April 16.
