SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus softball team worked its way back into the win column in their second of four doubleheaders on the week, and second in as many days at the Gustie Softball Field, earning the MIAC sweep of Hamline on Wednesday, April 9.
Gustavus (14-10, 4-2 MIAC) got its fourth home run of the season, a walk-off shot from
Carly Olson (So., Luverne, Minn.), while
Maizie Anderson (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.) pitched a pair of wins in the circle. Hamline (11-13, 1-5 MIAC) stranded six on base in each game, and hit .267 (4-for-15) with runners in scoring position.
Gustavus 6, Hamline 5
Late heroics from Olson and Anderson delivered win one of the day, recovering from an early 5-0 deficit.
An error gave Hamline its first lead of the game, 2-0, before an RBI single put the visitors up 3-0 in the first inning. Hamline scored two more in the fourth before the Gusties were able to get on board thanks to five free passes and a three-RBI stand-up double from
Kayla Herda (Sr., Farmington, Minn.).
Three walks in four at-bats and a sacrifice fly from
Taylor Katzenmeyer (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) scored the first of four for the inning, while Herda drove her ball into deep left center to clear the bases and bring Gustavus within one.
Lauren Lambert (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) found the same spot in the next inning to even the score at five apiece off an RBI double. Each team sent one in play in the sixth inning, but the tie held to the final frame. Anderson, in to pitch for
Ava Hamsund (So., Winona, Minn.) for the final inning, walked a pair of batters but set her team up for success by stranding both on base with a pop fly to second.
Olson, the first batter in the bottom of the seventh, launched Hamline pitcher Montana Miller's second pitch into deep left center to end the game with her first collegiate home run.
Herda, Olson, and
Caitlin Olafsson (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) each had two hits of the Gusties' total nine in game one, with Herda going 2-for-4 with three RBI. Hamsund pitched the first six innings, allowing two earned runs off nine hits, striking out one, and allowing just one free pass in 26 at-bats.
Gustavus 4, Hamline 2
Hamline once again scored early, this time off an RBI single to center, in a three-hit top of the first. The Gusties responded with three consecutive singles to load the bases in their first three at-bats. After a fly out to center, Olafsson found the gap for another Gustie single, scoring Herda, followed by a Lambert sacrifice fly to take the lead, 2-1.
The Pipers evened the score on an RBI single in the third, but it didn't hold for long, as a trio of hits in the bottom of the frame resulted in two runs, both of which were driven in by Lambert, who singled down the right field line.
Anderson and the Hamline pitching staff shut things down for the remainder of the game, with neither team scoring in the final four innings. Gustavus worked its way into scoring position in the sixth, but two quick outs from the center fielder left Lambert on third.
After walking her first batter in the final inning, Anderson collected a ground out, her fifth strikeout, and sent the Pipers packing on a fly out to Herda to end the game.
Greta Dahlen (Sr., West Des Moines, Iowa) was 3-for-3 in game two with a pair of runs scored, while Olafsson and Lambert each totaled a pair of hits among the team's 10. Anderson, in the complete game victory, allowed two earned runs off six hits, walking two batters and striking out five.
The Gusties host their fourth home doubleheader in a row on Saturday, April 12, welcoming Augsburg (12-12, 3-3 MIAC) to the Gustie Softball Field for a 1 and 3 p.m. doubleheader in Saint Peter.
