NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College softball team pushed its win streak to eight games after besting Augsburg University, 13-5 (5 inn.) and 12-0 (5 inn.) on Saturday.
Gloria Hronek led the Knights' offense with five hits on the day.
This win streak is tied for the second-longest in Carleton (18-14, 8-8 MIAC) history and the longest since the program-record 10-game run from March 22-April 8, 2000 (see chart below).
"I'm happy with the way we came out today, locked in and ready to attack right away," said Carleton head coach
Amy Erickson. "We continue to focus on finding our pitches and making hard contact every at bat, and it worked in our favor today."
Game 1 — Carleton 13, Augsburg 5 (5 inn.)
The Knights built a 4-0 advantage after only and inning of play. After Hronek delivered an RBI single to open the scoring,
Jade Thach smacked her fourth home run of the season, this on a three-run shot to left field.
Augsburg (7-24, 2-13 MIAC) got a two-out run back in the second, but Carleton answered with four more tallies in the bottom of the frame.
Samantha Rodriguez had an RBI double, Thach added a run-scoring grounder, and the other two runs came across on a wild pitch.
Megan Smith contributed a two-run double in the third inning, before Augsburg's Lola Pilon hit a grand slam in the fourth to pull the visitors to within 10-5.
The home half of the fourth frame saw
Gloria Galindo deliver a pinch-hit RBI single, with a fielding error permitting a second run to score.
Amanda Kim knocked home the final Carleton run with a single to center.
Rachel Block (6-6) set down the Auggies in order in the fifth to close out the victory. She finished with five strikeouts over her 5.0 innings in the circle.
Hronek went 3-for-3; Thach was 2-for-3 with the homer and four RBI; while Smith was 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and two RBI.
Game 2 — Carleton 12, Augsburg 0 (5 inn.)
After going down in order in the first inning, the Knights batted around in both the second and third innings, scoring a half-dozen runs in each frame and cruising to another victory. Catcher
Natasha Paez had the hot bat in this one. She had a two-run single to the centerfield wall in the second inning and added a two-run triple in the third.
Following Paez's base knock in the second, pitcher
Sydney Trentman connected for an RBI double, her first hit of the season. Smith, Rodriguez, and
Adriana Wiggins followed with consecutive RBI singles to build the 6-0 lead.
After Paez's triple in the third, Trentman had a sacrifice fly. Rodriguez, Wiggins, and Hronek came through with run-scoring hits to conclude the scoring.
Trentman (8-4) twirled a two-hitter as she notched her third shutout of the season. She has yielded only one earned run over her last 19.1 innings of work.
Paez, Rodriguez, Wiggins, and Hronek each had two hits as they Knights put together a seventh-consecutive game with double-digits hits.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton has six conference games remaining on the schedule and heads to Macalester College for a crucial doubleheader on Sunday, April 26. First pitch in St. Paul, Minn. is set for 1:00 p.m.
Longest Win Streaks in Carleton Softball History
10 -- March 22-April 8, 2000
8 -- April 21-27, 1979
8 -- April 8-20, 1989
8 -- April 15, 2026-present
7 -- April 24-28, 2018
