Third Straight Split for Lake Forest at The Spring Games

Photo by Debbie Bills
Photo by Debbie Bills

The Forester softball team defeated the University of Minnesota-Morris 8-0 in five innings after falling 5-1 to SUNY New Paltz in Florida on Thursday.

Freshman third baseman Cadence Dempsey doubled in sophomore shortstop Kaylee Purgatorio with Lake Forest's only run in the first game of the day. It made the score 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning.

The Hawks, however, responded with three runs in the top of the fourth and added one in the sixth.

Purgatorio accounted for two of the Foresters' six base hits in the contest.

Lake Forest scored in every inning against Minnesota-Morris, beginning with Purgatio, the leadoff hitter, scoring on a single up the middle by sophomore second baseman Kelly Collins in the top of the first.

Dempsey extended her hitting streak to eight games when she singled during a three-run second inning. The rally included a sacrifice fly by sophomore left fielder Julia McMullen, an RBI-single from freshman center fielder Emmie Nyen, and a wild pitch that brought home Purgatorio with her team-high 13th run of the your season.

Senior right fielder Elena Chrisman hit a sacrifice fly in the third and another run-scoring single by Collins was followed up by a two-run double by sophomore Ailee Pederson in the fourth.

Nyen drove in the final run on a fielder's choice in the fifth.

Senior Kristen Calhoun pitched all five innings for the Foresters and allowed just two base hits in her first career shutout. She is the fourth Lake Forest pitcher to earn a victory already this season.

The Foresters are now 3-3 during their Spring Break trip and 5-4 overall in 2023. New Paltz improved to 7-4 and Minnesota-Morris fell to 2-8.

Lake Forest will continue play at The Spring Games on Friday, taking on College of St. Scholastica and Ohio Northern University.