Freshman third baseman Haylee Sherlund hit a home run in the opener and a walk-off single in game two as the Lake Forest College softball team defeated visiting University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 7-0 and 4-3 on Tuesday.
Sherlund's long homer to left field in the fourth inning of game one gave the home team a 2-0 advantage. The Foresters had taken the lead an inning earlier when sophomore centerfielder Maria Zepeda drew a leadoff walk, sprinted to third on a single to center by freshman first baseman Riley Frisbie, and scored on a bunt by junior shortstop Kat Beall.
The Foresters the broke the game open with five in the fifth. Junior second baseman Jillian Rashid started the rally with a base hit and Zepeda and Frisbie were each hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Beall's well-placed ground ball between the shortstop and third baseman brought home the first run and sophomore leftfielder Abby King drew a walk to drive in the second. Freshman catcher Sydney Wyatt lined out to center, bringing home Frisbie, and senior rightfielder Sam Rosenfeld plated two more and hustled to second with a double on a fly ball just out of the centerfielder's reach.
Senior pitcher Jenny McTague went the distance for her 11th career shutout. She allowed just two base hits but walked eight and threw 121 pitches in the game. McTague also contributed defensively with six assists, including one to start a 1-2-3 double play to escape a jam in the opening inning. Wyatt also picked off a pair of Warhawk baserunners who strayed too far off of first base.
Whitewater took the early lead with a run in the top of the first inning in game two. The visitors also scored in the fifth to make the score 2-0.
The Foresters finally go on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth, despite starting the inning with a pair of outs. Sherlund cracked a double to left-center field and Wyatt drew a walk. Sophomore designated player Emma Carlson followed with a clutch single to right-center to make the score 2-1.
After the Warhawks added an insurace run in the top of the seventh, Lake Forest rallied for three in the bottom of the frame. Rashid lined a single to left to lead off the inning and Zepeda, who reached base safely in seven of eight plate appearances in the doubleheader, drew a walk. After a Frisbie sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third, Beall walked to load the bases. King drew her second bases-loaded walk of the day to pull the Foresters to within one and Sherlund followed with a hard ground ball just out the second baseman's reach to score the tying and winning runs.
Freshman pitcher Missy Dieckman-Meyer earned the victory, striking out eight batters while working around six hits and six walks. She improved to 6-3 on the season.
The Foresters are now back at the .500 mark at 9-9 on the year. Whitewater, the 21st-ranked team in the nation, fell to 10-4.
Lake Forest will begin Midwest Conference play on Sunday against visiting St. Norbert College. The doubleheader will begin at 1:00 p.m.