NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College softball team lost both ends of Sunday's twin bill against the College of Saint Benedict by scores of 9-2 and 11-6.
The Knights (10-14, 0-8 MIAC) have had a tough schedule as of late, playing three of the top four teams in the conference standings over the last four days.
Game 1 — Saint Benedict 9, Carleton 2
Carleton grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first when
Megan Smith raced home as part of an attempted double steal. Saint Benedict (17-9, 7-1 MIAC) scored an unearned run in the second and added another tally in the third.
The score remained 2-1 until the top of the sixth inning when a pair of Carleton errors opened the door for Saint Benedict to score six unearned runs. The guests tacked on an insurance run in the seventh thanks to two singles and a wild pitch.
Jade Thach opened the bottom of the ninth with a double, and
Emily Vogel followed with an infield single. Two batters later,
Esme Song plated Thach with a single to left field.
Rachel Block (2-6) absorbed the loss despite allowing only one earned run over 5.1 innings in the circle. She tied her career high with seven strikeouts.
Game 2 — Saint Benedict 11, Carleton 6
The Knights out-hit the Bennies 9-8 as
Adriana Wiggins went 3-for-4 and Thach was 2-for-4.
Saint Benedict jumped out to a 4-0 advantage after the top of the first, but Carleton responded with a two-run double by Thach in the bottom of the frame.
The visitors increased their advantage with an unearned tally in the third inning, but the Knights put together a four-run bottom of the fifth to take a 6-5 lead. After a sacrifice fly by
Gloria Hronek, Thach had an RBI single, and Vogel added a two-run double to left field.
Unfortunately for Carleton, the lead was short lived as Saint Benedict struck for three runs in the sixth and three more in the final frame.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton's homestand continues with a double-dip against Bethel University on Wednesday, April 15 at 3:30 p.m.
