WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Gustavus softball team split a pair of games Thursday morning, March 6, on the third day of competition of its annual spring trip to Florida. The Gusties fell to Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 2-0 in game one and defeated Clark University (Mass.) to move to 7-7 on the season.
Gustavus 0, Johnson & Wales 2
Two runs in the first inning proved to be enough for JWU to pick up the victory over the Gusties, who managed just three hits in Thursday morning's game. Johnson & Wales pitcher Katie Scheid and sophomore
Ava Hamsund (So., Winona, Minn.) allowed seven combined hits in the low-scoring affair, pitching near identical lines.
In six innings of work, Hamsund allowed four hits and struckout four in 25 at-bats, while Scheid held the Gusties scoreless in the complete game victory, conceding just three hits, walking one, and striking out three.
JWU (3-5 overall) scored on an RBI double to left field, followed by an error for the team's two runs.
Carly Olson (So., Lunverne, Minn.),
Paige Gritzmaker (Fy., Woodbury, Minn.), and
Macy McNally (So., Winona, Minn.) accounted for the three Gustie hits.
Gustavus 5, Clark 3
The Gusties found their rhythm at the plate in their second game of the day, scoring five runs, including three in the fifth inning, to overcome an early deficit against the Cougars.
Clark (6-2 overall) took the lead in the third inning, scoring off a single to center and a wild pitch for a 2-0 advantage over the Gusties. A throwing error by the Cougars in the top of the fourth inning helped
Caitlin Olafsson (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) run in the first score of the day to cut the Clark lead in half. Another RBI single from CU re-extended the lead, but
Greta Dahlen (Sr., West Des Moines, Iowa) singled to center to drive home
Taylor Katzenmeyer (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) and McNally, who both led the fifth off with singles.
Gritzmaker put the punctuation mark on the game, singling to right center to score Dahlen in the top of the seventh, who singled to right to get on base two at-bats prior.
Maizie Anderson (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.) allowed one hit off the Clark bats in the seventh inning, but closed the inning with two left on base to seal the victory for the Gusties.
Gritzmaker was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base in game two, while Dahlen went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and two runs. Katzenmeyer,
Kayla Herda (Sr., Farmington, Minn.), Olafsson, and McNally chipped in the remainder of the Gusties' hits, with a total of 10 for the team.
Anderson earned the win in the circle, pitching a complete game with two earned runs allowed on five hits. She struck out five batters in 25 total at-bats.
Gustavus wraps up its spring trip with Elizabethtown (Pa.) and Moravian (Pa.) tomorrow morning in Winter Haven.
