The Forester softball team defeated visiting North Central College 5-3 and 7-3 on Wednesday in its final non-conference games of the regular season.
Senior right fielder Elena Chrisman, sophomore second baseman Kelly Collins, and freshman catcher/designated player Kyla Chevalier each had four of the home team's 17 base hits in the doubleheader. Meanwhile, sophomore Hannah Smith and freshman Kayla Collins allowed just three runs apiece in their starts in the circle and senior Kristen Calhoun added a scoreless inning of relief in game two.
Freshman Cadence Dempsey, who robbed the Cardinals of several hits with her defense at third base, scored the first run of the day when she beat the throw home on a ground ball by junior first baseman Teagan Delarwelle in the opening inning.
After North Central tied the game with a run in the third and added two more in the fourth, Lake Forest rallied for four in the bottom of the sixth to take game one. An error brought in the first run and Chrisman's blooper bounced over the right fielder's head for a two-run triple to give the Foresters the lead. Dempsey then bunter in Chrisman to make the score 5-3.
Dempsey and Chevalier each had a pair of base hits in the contest.
Smith went the distance in the circle and improved to 9-3 on the season.
Chrisman, who served as the leadoff hitter for the first time this season, hit North Central's second pitch of game two over the center field fence for her first round-tripper of the year. THe visitors tied the score on a homer in the top of the second but Chrisman's two-run single in the bottom of the frame put Lake Forest back on top.
A Cardinal error brought home one run and another scored on a base hit up the middle by freshman center fielder Emmie Nyen in the third. An RBI single by Kelly Collins in the fourth then made it a 6-1 game.
A two-run double in the top of the fifth cut the Lake Forest lead to three but Kalya Collins induce back-to-back ground balls to herself to get out of the inning.
Chrisman's career-high fourth run batted in of the game and sixth of the day came on a base hit in the fifth. It also gave the home team at least one run in each of the first five innings.
Kalya Collins retired the side in order in the top of the sixth and Calhoun worked around a one-out walk in the seventh to close out the victory.
Chrisman and Kelly Collins were each 3-for-4 and Chevalier was 2-for-3 in the contest.
Lake Forest is now 4-0 against North Central and 19-12 overall this season while the Cardinals fell to 8-23.
The Foresters will resume Midwest Conference play against Beloit College at home on Saturday. Chrisman and Calhoun's Senior Day doubleheader will begin at 1:00 p.m.
