NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College softball team came from behind in both games and notched its first doubleheader sweep of the conference season, defeating Bethel University 3-2 (8 inn.) and 7-5 on a sunny afternoon at Ele Hansen Field.
"This week was a great reset, and it was a joy to watch this team go out and just have fun playing the game they love," said Carleton head coach
Amy Erickson. "We did a nice job of just playing one pitch at a time and controlling what we could: putting good bats on the ball, running hard, making some solid plays on defense, and just having the mindset of 'next pitch'."
Game 1 — Carleton 3, Bethel 2 (8 inn.)
Bethel (9-19, 4-6 MIAC) struck first, plating a pair of runs in the fourth inning. The Knights (12-14, 2-8 MIAC) responded two frames later. With two out and nobody aboard,
Gloria Hronek started the rally by drawing a walk.
Jade Thach doubled to put two runners in scoring position, and
Emily Vogel doubled to drive home both baserunners, tying the game at 2-2.
Carleton loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh but could not push the winning run across. Bethel had runners on second and third with one down in the top of the eighth, but
Rachel Block escaped the jam with a pair of outs on the infield.
Hronek was placed at second to start the bottom of the eighth, and another double by Thach put runners at second and third with none out. Vogel followed with a walk-off double, earning Carleton its first conference win of the season.
Block (3-6) collected a career-best eight strikeouts as she worked all 8.0 innings and allowed only four hits and the two runs (one earned).
Vogel finished the contest 3-for-4 with two doubles, a stolen base, and all three RBI. After doubling twice, Thach was the only other player for either team with a multi-hit performance.
Game 2 – Carleton 7, Bethel 5
The Royals opened the scoring on Sidney Bartels' RBI double in the third inning, but Carleton took advantage of a pair of Bethel miscues to bat around in the bottom of the frame, scoring four unearned runs.
Samantha Rodriguez, Thach, Vogel, and
Livi Peters all had base hits during the rally, with Thach collecting her third double of the day. The Knights added to the chaos for the Royals to deal with by stealing five bases in the frame.
Bethel plated a two-out run in the third to pull within 4-2, but the Knights cashed in another Royal error and scored two more times in the home half of the inning as Hronek laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score
Megan Smith, and
Adriana Wiggins raced home on a wild pitch to make it a 6-2 game.
The lone Carleton error of the game paved the way for Bethel to plate a trio of unearned runs in the fifth, making it a one-run game.
Sydney Trentman came out of the pen and struck out the No. 3 batter in the Bethel lineup to end the inning.
Carleton found an insurance run in the bottom of the inning as
Natasha Paez belted an opposite-field home run, her second long ball of the season and fourth of her career.
Trentman kept Bethel off the scoreboard the rest of the way, earning her second career save with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Becca Madsen (4-1) earned the win, yielding two runs while pitching the opening 4.0 innings for the Knights.
Smith, Rodriguez, and Vogel each had two hits to pace the Knights.
Carleton totaled nine stolen bases in the game for its highest single-game total since at least 2003. Smith, Rodriguez, and Song each swiped two bags, while Wiggins, Vogel, and Peters each pilfered one.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton is scheduled to host St. Olaf College for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, April 18.
