Gustavus softball notched its second consecutive sweep in as many days with 12-4 and 8-1 wins over Carleton in St. Peter Sunday afternoon. Rachael Click (Fr., Rochester, Minn.) had five hits in five at-bats and scored four runs along with four RBI in the two games. Gustavus is now 22-6 overall and 16-2 versus Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents. With the two losses, the Knights fall to 10-20 overall and 4-12 in the MIAC.
Game 1 – Gustavus Adolphus 12, Carleton 4
Carleton scored first when Kari Christianson hit a two-out double in the top of the first inning to score Elise Bolan from first. When the Gusties got up to bat next, Mary Furlong (Sr., Mound, Minn.) scored on a wild pitch after reaching on an infield hit, stealing second and advancing to third on a single Rachael Click.
The Gusties increased their lead to 7-1 with six runs in the second inning. Emily Klein (Fr., Red Wing, Minn.), who walked and stole second base, was driven home by Allison Haase (So., Blue Earth, Minn.) who doubled and advanced to third on a throwing error. Gustavus would eventually load the bases and Click would bring home Julie Mahre (So., White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Erin Ge (So., Shorewood, Minn.) with a two out single. Audrey Lenoch (Sr., Pine Island, Minn.), the next batter, hit a double to score Furlong and move Click to third. Abby Bernstein (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) hit another double to bring both Click and Lenoch home.
In the third inning, Ge, who singled, scored on a Mahre hit. Later, Mahre would score on a wild pitch to give Gustavus a 9-1 lead. Carleton cut the lead to 9-3 in the fourth when Emily Maland scored on a Erica Bolan single and Rhemi Abrams-Fuller scored on a wild pitch. However, the Gusties answered back in the bottom half of the inning by scoring three runs. Click and Haase both scored on wild pitches, while Klein managed a run when Bree Lindenberg (Fr., Faribault, Minn.) singled for a score of 12-3. The Knights added the final run of the game in the fifth inning on a wild pitch that scored Aron Feingold for a final score of 12-4.
Joyce DeWitz (Jr., Good Thunder, Minn.) pitched three innings for Gustavus and gave up one run, while striking out five in the win, which improves her record to 15-3.
Game 2 – Gustavus Adolphus 8, Carleton 1
Gustavus scored three runs in the first inning of game two when, after both Mahre and Furlong got on base due to errors, Mahre scored on a cather’s interference call. Later, Click singled home Furlong for the second run. Click scored on a Klein double to make the score 3-0.
Gustavus added four runs in the second inning when Dawn Lewis (So., Minnetonka, Minn.), who reached on an error, and Whitney Bartolo (So., Anoka, Minn.), who reached on a single, both scored on an error by Carleton to make the score 5-0. Click got her fifth hit of the day when she singled and brought home Furlong, who also reached base on an error. The next batter, Lenoch doubled home Click for a score of 7-0.
In the top of the fourth inning Carleton’s Christianson took a Lindenberg pitch and smashed it over the left field fence for the Knights’ only run. The Gusties added a run in the bottom of the fourth when Gabbert, who reached base on an infield hit, scored off a single by Tina Strauss (Jr., Red Wing, Minn.). Click, Klein, and Jessie Gabbert (Fr., Plymouth, Minn.) each contributed two hits in the second game for the Gusties.
DeWitz started the game for Gustavus and pitched three scoreless innings, while striking out six. Lindenberg was credited with the win; she pitched four innings and gave up a run. She improves her record to 4-2 on the season.
Lenoch broke the Gustavus career records for most at-bats, currently with 445, and most runs currently with 115.
The Gusties will play St. Thomas on Wednesday at 4:00pm in St. Peter.