The BYU-Hawaii Softball in Laie, Hawaii.
Laie, Hawaii – The Gustavus Adolphus softball team concluded its trip to the Aloha State with a sweep of BYU-Hawaii on Thursday afternoon at the BYU-Hawaii Softball Field. The Gusties put up identical run totals in each game with a 7-2 win in the opener and a 7-3 victory in the finale. Gustavus will return home to Minnesota soil with a record of 4-2. The Gusties will be back in action on Feb. 28 when they travel to Rochester for a pair of games against UW-La Crosse (11:00 a.m.) and Coe College (4:00 p.m.).
Game One Recap – Gustavus 7 def. BYU-Hawaii 2
Carly Klass (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) did the most offensive damage in the day’s opening game by going 3-for-4 with four RBI and a three-run home run in the sixth inning. Sarah Rozell (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) and Rachel Malo (So., Owatonna, Minn.) both finished 2-for-2. Rozell had a run, a walk, and a double, while Malo scored two runs and hit a triple.
Gustavus broke the game open with in the top of the second inning when Shelby Nosan (Sr., Baudette, Minn.) homered to left field to bring in Malo and Rozell. Nosan finished the game 1-for-2 with two runs, two walks, and three RBI.
The Gusties tacked on to their lead (4-0) with a run in the top of the fourth when Klass singled up the middle to score Ali Hoffman (So., New Prague, Minn.).
After BYU-Pacific cut the gap in half (4-2) with runs in the fourth and fifth, Gustavus responded with three more runs in the sixth to bring the game to a finale at 7-2. Rozell and Malo both got on base to set up Klass’s one-out, three run bomb.
Sarah Rozell got the start and picked up her first win of the season after going five complete innings and allowing two runs on five hits. Jena Willis (So., Glacier, Mont.) sat down the Seasiders in order in the remaining two frames.
Game Two Recap – Gustavus 7 def. BYU-Hawaii 3
The Gusties wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the series finale, scoring two runs in the top of the first to go up 2-0. Kailey Morgan doubled to center field to bring in Rachel Malo, and Jessica Williams (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) brought in Nathalee Boissiere (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) with a sacrifice fly to center.
Neither team scored for four complete innings before Gustavus went up 3-0 with a run in the top of the sixth when Williams doubled to left center to plate Brooke Falk (Sr., Glenwood, Minn.).
Although it faced a three-run deficit, BYU-Hawaii refused to go quietly and answered with three runs in the bottom half of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3.
Despite the momentum shift, Gustavus responded to the Seasiders’ big inning with four runs on four hits in the top of the seventh to bring the score to a final. Malo tripled to score Kim Kurtzweg (Fy., Arlington, Minn.), Boissiere singled to bring in Malo, Morgan singled to score Hoffman, and Willis capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to bring in Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.).
Boissiere and Morgan led the Gustavus’s offense with three hits each. Boissiere went 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI, while Morgan went 3-for-4 with two doubles.
Jessica Williams got the start and gave up two hits in five shutout innings. Jena Willis came in in the sixth and picked up the win after allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits.