The Gustavus softball team kicked off its 2011 season with a trip to Oahu, Hawaii, where they played six games on their seven day trip to the Hawaiian Islands. The Gusties posted a 2-4 record on the trip while playing against NCAA Division II competition.
Gustavus opened the trip with a doubleheader against Chaminade University on Wednesday, February 2. In the first game, the Gusties jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first after back-to-back doubles by Lisa Klass and Jenny Ewert and Emily Wendorff’s RBI single. Chaminade responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score, but Gustavus couldn’t get the bats going after its hot start. Chaminade took advantage of Gustie miscues and put together a few big offensive innings to pull away. Gustavus tallied three hits and registered three errors in the 17-2 loss.
Coach Jeff Annis’ squad regrouped between games and put together a much stronger performance in the second game. The contest remained scoreless until the third, when Chaminade scored two runs and was able to hang on for the win. The Gusties finished with eight hits and a lone error, but left ten runners on base in the 2-0 loss.
The Gusties returned to action on Thursday, February 3 against defending NCAA Division II National Champion Hawaii Pacific. Gustavus dropped the first game 7-1 with three hits, and no errors, while leaving five runners on base. In the second game, Hawaii Pacific pounded out sixteen hits and beat the Gusties 20-3.
The team concluded the trip on a positive note, sweeping Brigham Young-Hawaii in a doubleheader on Saturday, February 5. The first game was hotly contested, with the teams holding each other scoreless until Gustavus was able to get on the board in the top of the seventh when Amy Lynch scored on Jenny Ewert’s RBI single. Pitcher Erin Truebenbach was able to pitch out of a one-out jam in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the 1-0 Gustie win. The final game remained tight until the fourth inning, when Gustavus broke it open with a five-hit, six-run inning. The Gusties outhit BYU-Hawaii 10-3 in the 8-0 win. Kate Rentschler picked up the game victory on the mound as she scattered three hits in registering her first career shutout.
The Gusties will now take three weeks off from competition before returning to action on March 5, when they travel to St. Cloud, Minn. to play Valley City State and the University of Minnesota-Morris in the St. Cloud State Softball Dome.
Chaminade Game One
Chaminade Game Two