Junior rightfielder Abby King had a base hit in both games but the Midwest Conference champion Lake Forest College softball team was eliminated from the MWC Tournament at home on Friday, falling 3-0 to Cornell College and 2-0 to Grinnell College.
King was the first Forester to reach third base against Cornell when she singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning and advanced a base while each of the next two hitters were retired. The home team also threatened in the sixth, putting runners on second and third after a two-out double by sophomore catcher Sydney Wyatt, but were unable to drive them in.
Lake Forest junior centerfielder Maria Zepeda, senior second baseman Kat Beall, and senior leftfielder Sydney Gardner also had a base hit apiece in the contest.
The Rams plated a pair of runs in the opening inning and added one more in the fifth.
With the wind blowing in, especially from right field, the Forester offense continued to struggle in the elimination game against Grinnell. Freshman first baseman Shaye Gauthier and junior third baseman Alyssa Grimm singled to start the top of the third inning but were stranded and King recorded the team's third and final base hit in the fourth.
The Pioneers plated a run in the bottom of the third and another in the fourth.
Illinois College defeated Grinnell 4-1 in Friday's first game and Cornell 11-1 in five innings to close out the day. Cornell will take on Grinnell in an elimination game Saturday morning at 10:00 with the winner needing to defeat Illinois College at noon and 2:00 to capture the tournament title and earn the league's bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Illinois College would advance to the national tournament with just one more victory.
The Foresters, who entered the weekend as the second-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region, are now 29-11 on the season and will have to wait until Monday's NCAA Division III Tournament selection show at noon (1:00 ET) to find out if their season will continue.
