Sophomore second baseman Shaye Gauthier had four hits on the day, including her first home run of the season, as Lake Forest split a doubleheader with visiting St. Norbert College on Saturday, falling 5-4 in the opener before taking game two 7-3.
Gauthier was 2-for-3 in game one and drove in the Foresters' first run on a bunt single in the bottom of the third inning. St. Norbert had jumped out to a 4-0 lead with one run in the top of the second and three in the third.
Senior centerfielder Maria Zepeda singled in a run in the fourth and senior shortstop Alyssa Grimm belted a two-run homer to tie the game in the fifth. It was the team-high fourth round-tripper of the season for Grimm.
A home run with two outs in the top of the seventh put the Green Knights back on top and Lake Forest was unable to answer in the bottom of the frame.
Grimm and sophomore catcher Nicole Schussler matched Gauthier with two base hits in the contest.
The Foresters took their first lead of the day in the second inning of game two on consecutive run-scoring doubles by senior leftfielder Diamond Owens and Zepeda. Back-to-back doubles brought home three runs in the fourth, one driven in by senior third baseman Emma Varsbergs and two by Gauthier.
After St. Norbert plated a pair of run in the top of the fifth, Gauthier answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. Her four runs batted in are a career-high.
The Knights were able to plate an unearned run in the top of the seventh to close out the scoring.
The Foresters out-hit their guests 11-6 in the contest with Zepeda accounting for three of the hits and Gauthier and Varsbergs two apiece.
The doubleheader split left Lake Forest with an overall record of 14-14 and Midwest Conference mark of 7-3. St. Norbert is now 17-13 overall and 10-4 in the league.
The Foresters will play their final home games of the regular season against Beloit College on Wednesday. The conference doubleheader will begin at 3:00 p.m.
