Sophomore first baseman Sally Snarski belted a home run in both games of the doubleheader as the Lake Forest College softball team swept visiting Robert Morris University 7-1 and 12-11 on Sunday. The Foresters are now 13-4 this season.
Snarski's first round-tripper of the day was a towering shot that just cleared the center field fence and tied the score at one in the bottom of game one's second inning.
The score remained 1-1 until the home team erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fourth. Snarski led off the inning with a double and her pinch runner eventually scored the lead run when a pickoff attempt by the Eagle catcher got past the third baseman. A wild throw home from the third baseman on a ground ball plated another run, making the score 3-1. Sophomore third baseman Kaleigh Ambrose singled in another run and three more scored on junior rightfielder Kayla Borgra's second home run of the season.
Snarski, Ambrose, and junior centerfielder Whitney Leiderman each had a pair of base hits in the contest.
Forester sophomore pitcher Jessi Werner allowed just one run while striking out four batters in the game's first three innings. Freshman Jenny McTague held the visitors scoreless over the final four frames and picked up the victory. She surrendered just three base hits and struck out three without issuing a walk. McTague is now 6-1 with a 1.36 earned run average on the year.
Ambrose was the home team's starting pitcher in game two. She tossed the first three innings as well as the final inning-and-a-third and earned the victory in her first decision of the season. She was also instrumental in Lake Forest's comeback from a 9-2 sixth-inning deficit. Her first career grand slam in the bottom of the sixth capped off a six-run rally and made the score 9-8. Freshman leftfielder Tara Airola singled in a run and another came home on an error by the Eagles' rightfielder earlier in the inning.
Robert Morris responded with a pair of home runs in the top of the seventh to take an 11-8 lead.
Borgra and senior shortstop Sam Ritsema were both hit by pitches to start the bottom of the seventh and Snarski followed with a single to right field. A base hit by Airola plated a pair of runs and an error by the third baseman on a steal attempt put Foresters on second and third. McTague then came through with a solid single to left-center field and both runners scored, giving the home team the dramatic come-from-behind win.
Ritsema, Snarski, and Airola each had two hits in the game and the third, fourth, and fifth spots in the Forester lineup combined for five runs scored and five driven in. Snarski's line drive homer to center in the first inning briefly tied the game at two and was her eighth long ball of the season. That total is tied for the fourth-highest mark in program history, trailing only Christy Condon's 10 homers in 2006 and 11 each of the next two years.
Borgra was hit by a pitch twice and scored a piar of runs in game two but saw her hitting streak end at 14 games, which is tied for the fifth-longest in team history.
Robert Morris fell to 6-15 on the year.
Lake Forest will travel to East Peoria, Illinois, next weekend for the annual Midwest Conference Classic. The Foresters will take on all five teams from the league's North Division, beginning with Carroll Uinversity at 1:00 Friday afternoon. They will also face Ripon College at 5:00 p.m. Saturday's opponents are Beloit College at 11:00 a.m. and Lawrence University at 1:00 in the afternoon. Lake Forest will finish up with St. Norbert College at 10:00 Sunday morning.
