Kaitlyn Bicek slides in to second base on Saturday against Simpson. Photo courtesy of Simpson Sports Information.
Indianola, Iowa – The Gustavus Adolphus softball team continued its weekend trip to Iowa on Saturday with a split against Simpson College at the Simpson Softball Complex. The Gusties earned a 6-3 win in game one before suffering a 6-4 loss in game two. Gustavus moves to 8-8 overall and will now take on Dubuque in a doubleheader to cap the weekend on Sunday in Oskaloosa.
Game One Recap
With a 1-0 lead after five complete innings thanks to a Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) home run in the second, Gustavus broke the game open with three runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh. In the sixth, Carly Klass (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) doubled to drive in Breanne Rentschler (Sr., Lakefield, Minn.), Kailey Morgan (Sr., Mound, Minn.) brought in Klass with a single, and Sarah Rozell (Sr., Lakefield, Minn.) singled to bring in Ali Hoffman (So., New Prague, Minn.).
In the seventh, Shelby Nosan (Sr., Baudette, Minn.) plated Kim Kurtzweg (Fy., Arlington, Minn.) with a single, and Nathalee Boissiere (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) later brought Nosan in with a ground ball to second base.
The only blemishes on Gustavus starting pitcher Hannah Heacox’s (So., Stillwater, Minn.) stat line was a three-run Simpson seventh inning. Heacox picked up her first win of the season (1-1) after allowing three runs on four hits with eight strikeouts.
The Gusties outhit the Storm 10-to-4. Klass and Rozell both went 2-for-3 with a RBI, and Nosan went 2-for-4 with a RBI.
Game Two Recap
Gustavus was the first to strike in game two as well. The Gusties scored in both the second and third inning to go up 2-0 after three complete. Kaitlyn Bicek (Jr., Northfield, Minn.) brought in Jena Willis (So., Glacier, Mont.) in the second, and Morgan homered to left field in the third.
After a Breneman home run and an Addy Nelsen (Jr., Willmar, Minn.) double that scored Rentschler, Gustavus was on top 4-0 after four and a half innings.
It was at that point that Simpson’s bats came alive. The Storm scored three runs to cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, and then added three more to bring the score to a final at 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth.
Willis started the game and allowed three unearned runs on seven hits through five innings. Rozell came in in relief and suffered the loss after giving up three runs on four hits in the sixth inning.