The Lake Forest College softball team won 18-0 in five innings and 5-2 in dramatic fashion Saturday at Grinnell College. Forester senior third baseman Aubrey Pendegraft had three hits in the opener and broke a 2-2 tie with a leadoff home run in the seventh inning of game two.
Pendegraft was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and three driven in during game one. Sophomore center fielder Whitney Leiderman and freshman first baseman Alex Hemmer also had three hits apiece and all six went for extra bases. Leiderman led off the game with a triple before belting a solo home run in the top of the third inning and a grand slam in the fourth. Hemmer doubled in the first inning, tripled in the fourth and hit another double in the fifth.
Ten Foresters came to the plate during a six-run first inning and a two-run double by freshman pitcher Kaleigh Ambrose highlighted a three-run second. Leiderman's round-tripper was the only run of the third inning and Lake Forest hit for the cycle in the fourth with Pendegraft providing the single, freshman designated player Kristi Gandy the double, Hemmer the triple, and Leiderman her team-high eighth homer of the year.
Ambrose was 1-for-3 with three runs scored and two driven in at the plate during her first career shutout in the circle. She scattered five hits in as many innings whlie striking out three batters without issuing a walk.
Lake Forest took the early lead again in game two when Hemmer singled in junior shortstop Sam Ritsema, who had doubled with two outs in the first inning. Grinnell, however, plated two on a home run in the bottom of the frame.
The score remained 2-1 until the top of the fifth inning. Freshman catcher Maddie Dieleman pinch ran for classmate Kristy Gandy, who drew a leadoff walk. A sacrifice bunt moved Dieleman to second, she stole third, and scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
Pendegraft put the Foresters back on top by leading off the seventh inning with her first home run of the season and the 11th four-base hit of her career. Gandy doubled again with one out and the visitors added one insurance run on a Grinnell error and another on an run-scoring single by Leiderman.
Freshman pitcher Jessi Werner entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and struck out three of the four batters she faced to earn the victory. She finished 7-1 with a 1.72 earned run average in conference play. Fellow freshman Tori Liewergen allowed just three base hits in the first five-and-two-thirds innings. She struck out two and walked one in the game.
Lake Forest is now 17-14 overall while the Pioneers fell to 0-27.
The Foresters will close out the regular season with a non-conference doubleheader at home against Carthage College on Sunday. Game one will begin at 1:00 p.m.
