The Lake Forest College softball team split a doubleheader with visiting Illinois College on Sunday, winning the opener 8-0 in six innings before falling 7-0 in game two. Forester freshman Jessi Werner struck out a season-high 10 batters during a three-hit shutout in game one.
Werner struck out eight of the first nine batters she faced during her first career shutout. Illinois College managed just a leadoff double in the second inning, a base hit to start the fifth, and a one-out single in the sixth. No Lady Blue advanced past second base in the game. Werner continued her success against Midwest Conference opponents and is now 6-1 with a 1.78 earned run average in league play.
Forester sophomore center fielder Whitney Leiderman led off the bottom of the first inning with her team-high sixth home run of the season and freshman Alex Hemmer belted her third round-tripper of the year, a three-run shot, later in the frame.
Senior Aubrey Pendegraft led off the second inning with a double, stole third base, and scored on a bunt single by sophomore left fielder Alyssa Vechiola to give the home team a 5-0 advantage.
Pendegraft also used aggressive baserunning to score the Foresters' next run. After singling with one out in the fourth inning and advancing to second on a groundout, she scored all the way from second when Leiderman beat out an infield single to the shortstop.
Junior shortstop Sam Ritsema scored on a similar play in the fifth. She belted a one-out double and, when Werner grounded out to the second baseman, never slowed down around third base and beat the throw home.
A walk, an error, and a single loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth and Ritsema's fly ball down the left field line was deep enough to score Vechiola with the run that gave the Foresters an eight-run lead and the victory.
Leiderman, Pendegraft, and sophomore right fielder Kayla Borgra each had two of the home team's 10 base hits in the game.
The game one victory clinched the South Division's top seed in the MWC Championship Tournament for Lake Forest. It marked the seventh time in the last eight year and the 10th time in the last 13 seasons that the Foresters finished first in the divisional standings.
Illinois College jumped out to the early lead in game two with an unearned run in the first inning, three in the second, and three more in the third.
The Foresters managed just two base hits in the contest, a third inning double by freshman left fielder Tori Liewergen and a single by freshman catcher Maddie Dieleman with two outs in the seventh.
Lake Forest is now 15-12 overall and 10-3 in MWC play this season. Illinois College is 18-12 overall and 9-4 in the league.
The Foresters will play a non-conference doubleheader at North Central College Thursday at 3:00 p.m.