The Lake Forest College softball team defeated North Central College 11-2 and 4-1 Thursday night at The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois.
Forester pitchers were stingy on the evening, allowing just three runs on five base hits in the two games combined. Sophomore Hannah Smith took a no-hitter into the fifth inning in the opener and allowed just one base hit in her five innings of work. Freshman Kayla Collins kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard in the final two frames in her collegiate debut. Sophomore Ailee Pederson started game two and was also successful in her first appearance as a Forester, allowing just a run on three hits while striking out six in the complete game victory.
Lake Forest had seven extra base hits in game one, including a program record four triples. The three-baggers came from freshman left fielder Brooke Swiecki, freshman right fielder Morgan Traxinger, sophomore shortstop Kaylee Purgatorio, and freshman third baseman Cadence Dempsey. Dempsey and senior outfielder Elena Chrisman doubled and freshman catcher Kyla Chevalier belted a line drive home run over the left field fence.
Purgatorio had three base hits in the contest while Sweicki and sophomore second baseman Kelly Collins joined Dempsey with two-hit performances.
Lake Forest scored the first five runs of the game in the top of the third inning. After North Central plated a pair in the bottom of the fifth, the Foresters responded with two in the sixth and put the game away with four in the seventh.
After scoring three times in the opener, Purgatorio accounted for two more runs in game two. Sophomore first baseman Cheyenne Pellettiere scored the other two and Dempsey turned in her second two-hit game of the night.
Dempsey singled in Pellettiere and Chevalier plated Purgatorio on another base hit in the bottom of the third. The Cardinals' only tally came in the top of the fourth and the Foresters added two more when Dempsey's single was misplayed by a North Central outfielder in the fifth.
Lake Forest is now 2-1 on the year while Thursday night's games were the first of the season for the Cardinals.
The Foresters will travel to Florida for 10 contests over Spring Break next week.
