OSKALOOSA, Iowa – The Gustavus softball team started the Central College Invitational with a pair of wins Saturday – 6-4 over Dubuque followed by a 7-3 decision over Buena Vista to improve to 9-5 on the season.
Gustavus 6, Dubuque 4 | BOX SCORE
Hannah Heacox (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.) had allowed just two hits going into the seventh inning and finished with an outstanding performance as she went the distance with three earned runs on five hits with 11 strikeouts and five walks.
Rachel Malo (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) led the Gusties at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs. Nathalee Boissiere (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) (2-4, RBI, R) and Emily Webb (Fy., Maple Lake, Minn.) (2-3) also posted multiple hits.
The Gusties took a 2-0 lead in the first frame. Malo reached base on a single and later scored on an error. Boissiere scored the second run as she reached on an error and crossed home on another error.
Gustavus went ahead 4-0 in the second. Malo scored again after hitting a double and coming home on a single by Rachel Strandmark (So., New Ulm, Minn.). Strankmark then scored on a single by Boissiere.
The fifth Gustavus run came in the fourth as Kaitlyn Bicek (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) singled and later scored on an error. Kim Kurtzweg (So., Arlington, Minn.) tallied the final Gustie run in the fifth after pinch running for Jena Willis (Jr., Kalispell, Mt.), who singled, and then came home on a double off the bate of Ashley Hoffman (Fy., New Prague, Minn.).
Gustavus 7, Buena Vista 3 | BOX SCORE
The Gusties erased an early one-run deficit with six runs in the third inning against the Beavers and held on for a four-run win.
Bicek had a day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a triple, RBI, and a run scored. Willis also had a multi-hit day, batting 2-for-3 a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Willis helped her own cause as she started on the rubber and lasted five innings. She allowed two earned runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Heacox closed out the last two innings without surrendering a run or a hit with two strikeouts.
Consecutive singles off the bats of Jessica Neuman (So., Elk River, Minn.) and Hoffman sparked the big third inning. Malo walked to load the bases and Strandmark followed with an RBI single. Bicek ensued with another RBI single. Two batters later, Willis came to the plate a belted a grand slam to give the Gusties a 6-1 advantage.
The final Gustie run was scored in the sixth as Willis singled and later crossed home on a Kurtzweg single.
Gustavus next faces Central in a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 1 p.m.