St. Peter, Minn. – Back in MIAC action for the first time since April 6th, the Gustavus Adolphus softball team earned a sweep over Carleton College on Thursday afternoon at Hollingsworth Field. The Gusties cruised to an 8-1 victory in game one and then later edged the Knights by the score of 7-5 in game two. Gustavus improves to 7-10 overall and 4-2 in the MIAC, while Carleton drops to 10-15 overall and 5-7 in the MIAC.
Game One Recap
Playing as the visitor in both contests, the Gusties grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After Brittany Brenke (Jr., Le Sueur, Minn.) doubled over the Carleton center fielder’s head, Shelby Nosan (So., Baudette, Minn.) followed suit with a double of her own to center field to bring in Brenke.
Gustavus held on to the 1-0 advantage until putting three runs on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. With two outs, Kailey Morgan (So., Mound, Minn.) jump-started a rally with a ground-rule double that hopped over the left-center field fence. Kat Dahl (Jr., Luverne, Minn.) drove in Morgan to give Gustavus a 2-0 lead, and Carly Klass (So, Richfield, Minn.) homered to left-center to put the Gusties on top 4-0.
After Carleton answered with its lone run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Black and Gold capped the game with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Morgan continued to swing a hot bat in the sixth with a leadoff home run. Sam Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) later drove Klass home with a double to the left-center field gap, giving Gustavus a 6-1 lead.
With runners on second and third with one out in the top of the seventh, Kaitlyn Bicek (Fy., Northfield, Minn.) brought the score to a final at 8-1 with a single up the middle that scored both Amber Hoffman (Fy., New Prague, Minn.) and Jessica Williams (Fy., Plymouth, Minn.).
Gustavus starter Sarah Rozell (So., Lakeville, Minn.) settled in after getting out of a pair of early jams. She allowed three hits from the third inning on – two of which came in the fifth inning when Carleton scored its run. The sophomore improved to 4-4 overall with a five-inning effort, allowing five hits and striking out six.
Jessica Williams took Rozell’s spot and pitched two scoreless innings. Carleton’s Keeling Davis suffered the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits in five and two-thirds innings.
Four Gusties recorded a multiple-hit game in the day’s opener. Morgan went 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two runs, and a RBI. Klass went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, Nosan went 2-for-4 with a double and a RBI, and Brenke went 2-for-3 with a double and a run.
Game Two Recap
Runs were plentiful early on in the nightcap. After Gustavus jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first half inning, Carleton responded with four runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 4-2 lead.
The Gusties were able to cut the lead to 4-3 with a run in the top of the second after Breanne Rentschler (So., Lakefield, Minn.) plated Paige Breneman (So., Sherburn, Minn.) with a single. Carleton answered right back in the bottom of the inning when Katrina Harper singled to bring home Jenny Ramey, extending the lead to 5-3.
After a scoreless third inning, Gustavus’s offense began to come alive. Following a run produced off a wild pitch in the top of the fourth inning, Gustavus scored three runs in the top of the fifth to retake the lead at 7-5. Kailey Morgan kicked off the inning with her second solo shot of the day, this time ripping a moon shot onto the berm in left field. With the bases loaded later in the inning, Christina Riester (Sr., Wabasha, Minn.) hit a ground ball single past the first basemen to bring across Sam Breneman. Breanne Rentschler then brought the game’s scoring to a close with a deep sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Klass.
Eight Gustavus players tallied a hit in game two. Morgan’s homer was the only extra base hit.
Kate Rentschler earned the victory after a complete-game performance. She improved to 3-6 after allowing five runs (one earned) on seven hits with six strike outs to her credit. Micaela LaRose went the distance in the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned) on eight hits.
The Gustavus softball team will begin its busy weekend tomorrow with a road doubleheader at Augsburg College. The Gusties and Auggies will square off in the series-opener at 3:30 p.m. in Minneapolis.