The Lake Forest College softball team beat Beloit College in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 24. The Foresters shut out the Bucaneers 13-0 in game one and won 17-2 in game two. Both contests were decided in five innings.
Senior Maddie Webb recorded her fourth career shutout in game one, allowing only two hits, walking three and striking out three.
Junior Carlie Mertz got the scoring started in the top of the first with three-run homerun, scoring what would be the only run needed to win the game for the Foresters. It was Mertz's second homerun of the season. The scoring did not stop there; two batters later, Webb hit a triple and brought sophomore Brie Gauthier home, who'd gotten on base with a triple of her own. In the top of the second, junior Josie Klein doubled and then made it to third on an error by the center fielder and got home on a throwing error by the shortstop. Errors plagued Beloit throughout the game. Sophomore Melissa Manzo batted in a run when she flied out to right field.
The Foresters scored five runs in the top of the third thanks to some good base-running and additional errors by the Buccaneers. Webb was the second batter of the inning; she singled to center field, advancing the first batter, Brie Gauthier, who'd been hit by a pitch and stole second. Webb stole second during the next at-bat. She would advance to third and Gauthier to home on another throwing error, this time by Beloit's third baseman. Webb would score on senior Hannah Kalnicky's ground out to short stop on the next play. Senior Shaye Gauthier hit a double to second and brought home Josie Klein, who'd walked and stolen second. With the bases loaded, freshman Angelle Bills pinch hit for junior Hailey Boylan and reached first on an error by the first baseman; Shaye Gauthier scored. The bases were still loaded when the next batter, freshman Melena Stemmler, pinching hitting for Brie Gauthier, walked, bringing freshman Jenny Gibbs home from third.
The final runs of the game came in the top of the fourth when senior Erin Karasewski singled; she advanced to second on an error by the left fielder and then advanced to third, advancing the runners on first and second all the way home.
The Foresters' bats remained hot in game two. They scored eleven runs in the top of the first. Brie Gauthier started the game off with a double, scoring two runs as she brought Manzo and Shaye Gauthier home; she then stole third. Mertz would bring Brie home to score what would be the winning running with a single to left center; she was batted in on the next at bat when Boylan doubled. Boylan would score on a single by Kalnicky, who would then steal second and advance to third on a wild pitch; Webb, who'd reached first on an error by the right fielder and stole second, advanced to home on the same wild pitch. A single by senior Abby Ponder would plate a run, and Ponder would later score a run herself when Shaye Gauthier doubled two batters later. Shaye would reach home when Manzo singled through the right side. With her second at-bat of the inning and with the bases loaded, Webb would reach first on an error by the pitcher, scoring a run. The bases still loaded, Kalnicky singled through the left side and batted in another run. The Buccaneers had two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first; these would be their only runs of the day.
Brie Gauthier batted in Shaye Gauthier on a single in the top of the second. A double by Boylan and a single by Webb brought home runs 13 and 14 for the Foresters in the top of the third. In the fourth inning, Manzo double to left, scoring Shaye Gauthier; Brie Gauthier hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring Manzo home. The final run of the day was plated by Bills. She singled to get on base and advanced to second on an error by the center fielder, and then advanced to third. She scored when Ponder reached first on a throwing error by the shortstop during the next at-bat.
Shaye Gauthier recorded the win, her fourth of the season, for Lake Forest. She allowed only two runs on four hits, and she struck out seven.
The Foresters finished the day with 30 runs and 32 hits in total.
The Foresters are now 14-4 and 5-1 against Conference opponents. They're next games are against Lawrence University on Sunday, April 25 at 1 PM and 3 PM.
