Hannah Heacox earned a complete game win on Monday and helped her own cause with a three-run homer.
Gustavus 7, Bethel 4 (Box) | Bethel 9, Gustavus 4 (Box)
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College softball team split its MIAC Opener with Bethel University on Monday afternoon at Ona Orth Complex. The split moves the Gusties to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while the Royals are now 6-10 and 1-1.
Game One
In game one of the afternoon doubleheader, it was the Royals who got on the board first. After a scoreless first inning and a half, the Royals jumped on Gustie starter Hannah Heacox (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.) in the bottom of the second on four singles, a walk, and a fielders choice to take an early 2-0 lead.
However, in the next half inning, Gustavus stormed back with a two-out rally. With just Rachel Malo (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) on base after a one-out single, Kaitlyn Bicek (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) walked, advancing Malo to second. Nathalee Boissiere (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) then doubled for two RBIs to tie the score at 2-2. Emily Webb (Fy., Maple Lake, Minn.) walked in the next at bat and was followed by a Heacox bomb, which propelled the Gusties to a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
The Gusties tacked on additional runs in the fourth and seventh innings, but they wouldn’t be necessary after their five-run third, as Heacox scattered two runs off of three hits over the final five innings to earn the complete game win to move her to 5-2 on the season. Karli Persson suffered the loss for the Royals after giving up seven runs on ten hits over seven innings.
Game Two
Bethel got on the board first again in the second game, scoring once in the bottom of the first. However, a Webb double and run in the top of the second evened the score at one-apiece, which is where it would stay until the fourth inning.
There, the Gusties benefited from another three-run homer, this time off the bat of Malo, and took a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the frame. The Royals tacked on two runs of their own, but Gustavus still led 4-3 heading to the fifth.
Things unraveled for the Black and Gold in the fifth, as Bethel benefitted from three costly errors, two at the beginning of the inning that, if not committed, would have allowed the Gusties to escape the frame unscathed. As it stood, the Royals took advantage, going on a two-out rally while racking up four hits, six runs (four unearned) to take a 9-4 lead after five that would hold for the remainder of the contest.
Jessica Williams (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) suffered the loss on the rubber for the Gusties after giving up nine runs (five earned) on 10 hits and striking out four. Jena Willis (Jr., Kalispell, Mt.) came on in relief and pitched a scoreless inning and a third.
Gustavus is back in action on Saturday with a non-conference doubleheader in Oskaloosa, Iowa when it takes on Dubuque and Buena Vista.