The Gustavus softball team dropped a 5-2 decision to non-conference foe Waldorf College on Monday afternoon in St. Peter. The Gusties led 2-1 through five innings, but the Warriors scored once in the sixth, and three times in the seventh to hand Gustavus its eighth loss of the season. Gustavus struggled to pick up timely hits against Waldorf leaving runners stranded in every inning but one in the game (10 overall).
The Gusties took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Jesse Pelzel stroked a two-out single that drove in Emily Wendorff from third base. Waldorf tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third and then Gustavus jumped back into the lead when Lisa Klass led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a home run.
Waldorf rallied once again and tied the score at 2-2 with a run in the top of the sixth inning. The Warriors broke the game open in the top of the seventh inning scoring three runs off of Erin Truebenbach.
Emily Wendorff and Jesse Pelzel picked up two hits to lead the Gusties offensively. Coach Jeff Annis used three pitchers in the contest as Betsie Collins allowed five hits and one run in three innings, while Callie Nelsen allowed two hits and no runs in two innings, and Truebenbach allowed five hits and four runs in the final two innings.
The Gustavus junior varsity squad played the second game against Waldorf and lost 4-2. Kate Rentschler pitched all seven innings for Gustavus. Sam Breneman led the team at the plate driving two doubles into the left field corner and scoring one run.
Gustavus returns to conference play with a critical doubleheader with St. Thomas in St. Peter on Tuesday afternoon at 4 pm. The doubleheader with the Tommies was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, but was postponed on Saturday and Sunday, before being moved to Tuesday.
The Gustavus vs. St. Thomas doubleheader will be videostreamed live through the Gustavus website. Live stats will also be available.