The Lake Forest College softball team prevailed 10-0 in five innings and 9-8 in eight at Lawrence University on Wednesday.
Forester sophomore second baseman Kelly Collins was 5-for-5 on the day and her only plate appearance that did not result in a base hit was a sacrifice fly that brought home what proved to be the winning run in the top of game two's eighth inning. That run was scored by senior right fielder Elena Chrisman, who belted a home run in each game, giving her four on the season.
Chrisman cleared the fence in right center to lead off the opener and junior designated player Teagan Delarwelle hit a three-run homer down the right field line later in the inning. Freshman center fielder Emmie Nyen doubled in a run later in the frame and came home on freshman left fielder Brooke Swiecki's first career homer, making the score 7-0 before the Vikings came to bat.
Lake Forest sophomore first baseman Cheyenne Pellettiere, who was 3-for-3 in the game, doubled in a pair of runs and another scored on a base hit by freshman catcher Alexa Paulsberg in the second inning.
The 10-run lead was more than enough for sophomore pitcher Brooke Challe, who tossed her second straight three-hit five-inning shutout. Challe is now 3-0 with a 1.09 earned run average in 25.2 innings on the year.
The Foresters used three pitchers in game two. Sophomore Hannah Smith pitched the final two innings and was credited with the victory, raising her record this spring to 11-3.
Freshman catcher Kyla Chevalier's sixth home run of 2023 gave Lake Forest a 3-0 lead and junior shortstop Angelle Bills singled in another run in the first inning of game two.
After Lawrence plated one in each of the first three innings, Collins made it a 5-3 game with an RBI single in the top of the fifth.
The Vikings scored a single run again in the bottom of the fifth before a three-run homer by Chrisman in the sixth made the score 8-4.
Another Lawrence tally in the sixth was followed by a three-run seventh that sent the game to extra innings.
Chrisman drew a walk to lead off the eight and advance to second on a wild pitch. A base hit by freshman third baseman Cadence Dempsey sent her to third and a flyout to center off the bat of Collins brought her home. The home team had runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the inning but Smith induced a popout and flyout to escape with the sweep.
Collins was 4-for-4 and Chrisman, Dempsey, and Delarwelle chipped in with two hits apiece in the contest.
Lake Forest improved to 23-12-1 overall this season and 10-4 in Midwest Conference play. Lawrence fell to 5-31 overall and 1-13 in the league.
The Foresters will close out the regular season with a doubleheader at Monmouth College on Saturday. The opener is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
