SAINT PAUL, MINN.—The Hamline University softball team ended their season with a Friday and Saturday afternoon bout at St. Catherine (DH). The Pipers came back from a 7-0 deficit in a 9-8 (10 innings) victory in game one, before they dropped a 6-4 decision in game two.
Game one was suspended in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday due to weather/darkness, before the remainder of the doubleheader resumed on Saturday.
The Pipers conclude their season with a 16-19-1, 10-12 MIAC record, while St. Catherine will enter the MIAC Tournament with a 19-19, 13-9 MIAC mark.
Hamline 9, St. Catherine 8 (10 innings)
The Wildcats registered a three-run second frame, followed by a four-run third en route to a 7-0 lead before the Pipers countered that feat in the fourth and fifth frames. The comeback in regulation culminated in Gabby Cook's two-run home run in the fifth inning that knotted the score at 7-7, where things stayed through seven innings.
Flash-forward to Saturday, where both teams traded a ninth-inning run to make the score 8-8. Hamline's eighth run was thanks to Cook; who walked, advanced to second base when Abbey Herbert reached on an error, touched third base off Maddie Johnson's single, and scored off Raelyn Costley's sacrifice fly.
The international rule of tiebreak went into play in the 10th inning, where Hamline took full advantage. Gabby Tuhy was placed on second base and eventually scored off Elena Martinez's double to give Hamline a 9-8 lead.
Both teams combined for 32 hits in the contest, 14 of which came from Hamline. Cook went 4-for-5 with two runs, two walks, and an RBI. Lydia Lecher prevailed with a 3-for-6 outing that included two runs scored, while Martinez went 2-for-7 with two doubles, three RBI and two runs. Savannah Johnson drew three walks. Maddie Johnson rounded out the multi-hit Pipers with a 2-for-2 game.
Dana Rosbacka pitched all 10 innings in the win for Hamline. The Wildcats utilized three different pitchers.
St. Catherine 6, Hamline 4
Hamliine either led or tied until the sixth inning, where the Wildcats registered a pair of unanswered runs behind Sarah Posey's two-run double that secured them a 6-4 victory.
Gabby Cook was the only multi-hit Piper with a 3-for-3 game that included one run and an RBI. Kiana Island and Maddie Johnson each recorded a double for Hamline, who notched nine hits as a team.
Montana Miller allowed 10 hits, six runs, and notched two strikeouts in the complete-game pitching effort for the Pipers. Riley Leonhardt surrendered nine hits and four walks in the pitching win for the Wildcats.
Hamline bids farewell to seniors Gabby Cook and Dana Rosbacka.
