The Gustavus softball team swept Concordia on Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, winning game one 9-1 and game two 8-0. Both games were called after five innings due to the eight-run rule. Though the matchups took place in St. Peter, Concordia was the home team for both games, as the contests were originally scheduled to be played in Moorhead, Minn. With the victories, the Gusties move to 11-9 overall and 4-0 in the MIAC.
The Gusties got off to a hot start in game one, picking up five runs on three hits and three Cobber errors in the top of the first inning. After Lisa Klass doubled to open the game, Jenny Ewert reached on an error and Emily Wendorff was hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded and no outs, Kate Rentschler hit a line-drive single to right field to score Klass and Ewert and put the Gusties up 2-0. Gustavus batted through the order in the inning, as Rentschler picked up two RBI and Dani Cattrysse and Jen Ulmen added one each. Gustavus would add two runs each in the second and third innings to expand the lead to 9-0 by the end of the third. The Cobbers tallied their only run in the bottom of the fourth, as Joelle Link led off the inning with a double and was knocked in by Kesley Jones’ RBI single. The one run wouldn’t be enough, as the game was called after five innings due to the eight-run rule. Ulmen and Klass led the Gusties with two hits each in the game. Rentschler pitched the first two innings allowing no hits while striking out five. Bethany Flohrs earned the win on the mound as she pitched the last three innings of the game. Flohrs allowed four hits and one earned run. Jones took the loss for the Cobbers, allowing seven hits and five earned runs in the complete-game performance.
In game two, Gustavus scored once in the top of the first after Wendorff singled to left field to score Ewert. Pitcher Erin Truebenbach worked out of a jam in the bottom of the first, as the Cobbers had runners on first and third with one out. Truebenbach struck out Jones and got out of the inning when the Cattrssye threw down to second on the steal attempt by Emily Salo. Salo was in safe at second, but shortstop Klass alertly threw home to nail Link for the third out of the inning. In the top of the second, the Gusties broke the game open, scoring three runs on three hits and one Concordia error to widen the margin to 4-0. Gustavus would pick up one more run in both the fourth and fifth innings before tallying two in the fifth to expand the lead to 8-0. The Cobbers threatened to keep the game alive in the bottom of the fifth, but with a runner on first and no outs, Klass and Christina Riester turned a big double play to eliminate the threat. Truebenbach would get the last out of the game on a strikeout, as the game was stopped after the fifth due to the eight-run rule. Klass came up big at the plate in game two, going 3-4 with 2 RBI. Truebenbach picked up the complete-game shutout for the Gusties, scattering three hits and tallying five strikeouts in five innings of work. The contest was Truebenbach’s first complete-game appearance of the season, as she has been battling injuries in first two months of the 2011 campaign.
The Gusties will continue their MIAC season on Monday, April 11, when they host St. Olaf in a doubleheader. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.