The Lake Forest College softball team won 13-6 and 11-2 in six innings at Knox College on Tuesday to clinch a spot in the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament. Freshman Sammie Zender's first career home run was among the Foresters' program record five round-trippers in the opener.
Zender drove in a run with one of the visitors' six base hits in the first inning of the day. Sophomore Ashley Cuthbert and freshman Mindy Runge also singled in a run apiece and sophomore Nikki Miller doubled in a pair as the Foresters plated six runs in the inning. Knox, however, scored four in the bottom of the frame to make the score 6-4.
Forester sophomore Aubrey Pendegraft hit the first home run of the day with two outs in the second inning and junior Danielle Gore led off the third with another longball.
After the Prairie Fire scored twice in the bottom of the third to make the score 8-6, Pendegraft belted her second homer of the game and sixth this season in the top of the fourth. She became the second Forester this year and the 10th in team history to homer twice in a game.
Zender gave Lake Forest a solo home run for the fourth consecutive inning when she cleared the fence in the top of the fifth.
Cuthbert led off the sixth inning with a base hit, advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a groundout before junior Leslie Harshey singled her home with the team's 11th run of the game. Cuthbert then connected for the Foresters' team record fifth home run of the game with two outs in the seventh. Freshman Sam Ritsema had singled and stole second before scoring on the homer that also gave Lake Forest a team record 33 total bases in the game.
Cuthbert and Pendegraft had three hits apiece while Harshey, Miller, and Zender each finished with two.
Forester sophomore Kelly Chesnut entered the game in the third inning and struck out eight batters in five scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory, raising her record on the year to 5-4.
Fellow sophomore Molly Thomsen pitched all six innings of game two and allowed just two runs on five base hits. She struck out one and did not walk a batter in the contest.
After scoring at least once in every inning of game one, Lake Forest was blanked in the first inning of the nightcap but came back with five runs in the second. Harshey led off with a base hit and scored on a triple by Gore. Gore stayed at third on an infield single by Cuthbert, who then stole second base. Zender singled in both runners and scored on a triple by Runge. After a pair of pop-ups and a walk, Runge came home on a wild pitch.
Runge singled in Harshey in the third inning but a pair of Knox runs in the bottom of the fouth made the score 6-2.
Gore led off the fifth with her second home run of the day and fourth this season. Cuthbert followed with a single, advanced to third on a double by Runge, and scored on a passed ball. Gore and Cuthbert were also key components of a three-run seventh inning. Gore's two-out single scored Miller and Cuthbert followed with her second homer of the day and team-high seventh of the year.
Miller, Gore, Cuthbert, and Runge each had three of Lake Forest's 18 base hits in the contest. Gore and Cuthbert also scored three runs apiece and Gore drove in three.
The victory raised the Foresters' overall record on the season to 14-16, lifted their conference mark to 9-3, and clinch their 12th consecutive berth in the four-team MWC Championship Tournament. The team will not play again until the tourney, which will be hosted by the MWC's North Division champion May 6-7.
