Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 It was double the pleasure -- and then some -- for the HU softball team in their conference opening doubleheader against Carleton at Meredith Field Saturday. The Pipers claimed a pair of one-run victories by scores of 1-0 and 6-5 to pull even overall on the 2017 season at 7-7. The latter decision was the 200th victory for head coach
Jim Rubbelke, now in his 10th season at the Piper helm.
Nothing, however, came easy.
In the opener,
Sarah DeMars held the Knights to four hits but struggled with her control early, walking six batters and hitting another. Some sharp HU defense helped out. In the first inning, C
Aubree Douglas threw out a runner trying to steal and a nifty double play ended the inning. In the third inning, with runners on first and third bases, Carleton tried a double steal. But SS
Mary-Clare Couillard cut in front of second base, took the throw and nailed the Knight runner at the plate (see picture) to end that rally.
DeMars took it from there, not allowing past second base the rest of the way and improved to 5-2 for the season. HU won the game in the last of thr seventh when, with one out,
Kira Krueger tripled.
Sydney Fransiscus dropped a bunt single to score Krueger to end the game.
The bats came alive for both teams in the second game. Fransiscus doubled home a pair of runs in th second inning to erase an early 2-0 Knight lead. Carleton scored twice in the third to regain the lead but pitcher
Casey Anderson evened things up at 4 with a RBI double in the bottom of the inning. HU took the lead in the fifth when Fransiscus singled, stole second rode home on a bad bounce double by
Chelsea Koehn. Fransiscus was credited with a RBI in the sixth inning when the Knight third baseman booted her grounder. The extra run made a difference when the Knights scored a run in the seventh. Anderson then claimed her second win of the year when she retired the next batter on a grounder and HU had the sweep in its home opener.
The Pipers get right back into the thick of things Sunday with a doubleheader at Gustavus Adolphus (13-5, 1-1 MIAC). The twinbill begins at 1:00 p.m.
HU is back at Meredith on Wednesday, April 5 against Macalester. The doubleheader begins at 3:30 p.m.
