St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus softball team earned its second MIAC sweep of the season on Saturday with a pair of wins over Carleton College. On what was Strikeout Cancer Day at the Gustie Softball Field, the Gusties cruised to an 8-0 win in game one before edging the Knights 3-2 in game two. Gustavus improves to 16-12 overall and 6-4 in the MIAC, while Carleton drops to 8-18 overall and 3-9 in the MIAC.
The Gustavus softball team will complete the weekend with a doubleheader against St. Olaf College on Sunday afternoon in Northfield. First pitch of game one is set for 1:00 p.m.
Game One Recap
After suffering back-to-back losses in her last two starts, Hannah Heacox (So., Stillwater, Minn.) got back on track with her third complete-game shutout of the season. Heacox improved to 5-3 after allowing four hits go along with nine strikeouts in six complete innings.
Leading the way at the plate for Gustavus was Carly Klass (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) and Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.). Klass went 2-for-4 with two runs and a RBI, while Breneman went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Kaitlyn Bicek (Jr., Northfield, Minn.) also hit a home run and went 1-for-3 with a run. Kailey Morgan (Sr., Mound, Minn.) extended her hitting-streak to nine games after going 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.
After grabbing a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, Gustavus scored three runs on five hits to go up 4-0 in the third. Bicek and Klass led off the inning with back-to-back solo home runs, and Jena Willis (So., Glacier, Mont.) drove in Morgan with a single through the left side.
Gustavus added two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to bring game one to a final at 8-0. Breneman’s single to left field in the sixth scored Kim Kurtzweg (Fy., Arlington, Minn.) and Class, and gave the Gusties the eight-run-rule.
Game Two Recap
Sarah Rozell (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) picked up the win (5-5) in what was another solid start. Rozell went six complete innings and allowed two runs on nine hits with one strikeout and no walks. She has now allowed less than two earned runs in each of her last four starts. Hannah Heacox took over for Rozell in the top of the seventh and picked up her first save of the year following a one-two-three inning.
Rozell’s counterpart, Maddie Freyberg, took the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits.
Game two’s scoring began in the top of the third inning when Carleton took a 1-0 lead on a Molly Steinberg single that scored Cassie Clarke. The Gusties responded with a run in the bottom of the frame when Kaitlyn Bicek drove in Breanne Rentschler (Sr., Lakefield, Minn.) with a sacrifice fly to center field.
The Gusties then took a 2-1 lead in the fifth thanks to a Shelby Nosan (Sr., Baudette, Minn.) double that plated Rentschler. Rentschler finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs.
Although the Knights knotted the game at 2-2 on a one-run double by Caroline Duke in the sixth, Gustavus answered with the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the inning. With Paige Breneman on third with two outs, Rozell singled through the left side to bring the game-winner across home plate.