The Forester softball team split a pair of games for the third time this week on Thursday, defeating Wheaton College (Mass.) 4-2 and falling 8-3 to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Lake Forest junior pitcher Molly Thomsen tossed a complete game four-hitter in the first contest of the day.
Thomsen struck out three batters and walked just one while improving to 2-0 on the season. Just one of the runs she allowed was earned, dropping her ERA on the year to 1.88.
After Wheaton scored once in the first inning, the Foresters plated all four of their runs in the second. Junior first baseman Nikki Miller started the rally with a one-out single and sophomore shortstop Sam Ritsema and senior catcher Danielle Gore followed with walks. Sophomore designated player Clare Kavanagh cleared the bases with a double to right-center field before scoring on a double by senior center fielder Leslie Harshey.
Kavanagh and Miller were each 2-for-3 in the contest.
Freshman left fielder Whitney Leiderman was 2-for-3 in the Foresters' second game of the day. She scored the team's first run on a base hit by Miller in the top of the fourth inning. Leiderman also doubled in Kavanagh and Harshey, who had both reached base on singles, with two outs in the fifth.
Junior pitcher Kelly Chesnut tossed the final two innings for Lake Forest and did not allow a Falcon batter to reach base.
The Foresters are now 3-3 at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Florida. Wheaton fell to 2-5 and River Falls raised its record to 6-1.
Lake Forest will face Transylvania University tomorrow morning at 9:00 (EST) and Illinois Wesleyan University at 11:00 a.m.
