Softball staying tough

Look to take on North Division

by Mallory Mulvihill
Sports Editor

The Monmouth College women’s softball team has already equaled their win total from last season, and they still have over half of a season left to play. With a whole new squad and no seniors, the women look to be a tough team to beat in the future. They already made their presence known when they took a game from conference favorite Lake Forest and a strong Aurora team that won 40 games last year.

Coach Kari Shimmin unleashed freshman pitcher Sarah Christensen, from Galesburg High School, in a game each against Aurora and Lake Forest. Christensen came away with wins in both games and most impressively didn’t walk a single batter.

On Saturday, April 1, the women took on Lake Forest at home in a double header. Lake Forest made a national tournament berth last year, and was the conference favorite to do the same this year. The women looked to have the Foresters right where they wanted them in game one, being up 6-2 going into the sixth inning. Amanda Boonstra was the starting pitcher for the women. She went five innings giving up only two runs. The Scots blew the game open in the fifth inning with five runs scored, including a three run blast from sophomore Jessica Travis. Boonstra left the game with a comfortable lead going into the sixth inning.

Blayre Scott entered the game in Boonstra’s relief and ended up letting the Foresters back in the game giving up six unearned runs in the sixth, which included a grand slam from Melissa Wegner that put the Foresters up 8-6. Drew Robinson and Ashley Parer both faired well, each going 2-4 in the game and scoring one run apiece.

In the second game of the double header, Christensen made her appearance at the mound. She pitched the whole seven innings, only allowing five hits and one run. The Foresters had no answer for Christensen as they went through two pitchers. Their starting pitcher, Ashley Closson, went four innings, giving up 11 hits and seven runs before she exited the game. Kristen Bickett was the offensive spark for the women as she finished 2-4 and drove in three runs. Robinson kept her strong season going 2-5. She finished with four hits on the day.

The women took on a tough Aurora team on Tuesday, April 4 at home. Christensen had another standout performance in the first game of the double header. The women took a 2-0 lead in the second when Anna Coutts singled to score Felicia Roberts. Later in the inning, junior Jackie Hennefent scored on a Robinson groundout. Aurora came back to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth, and it remained at that for nearly the entire game. In the bottom of the seventh, Emily Willems stepped to the plate and hit a game winning single up the middle to score Hennefent from third. Coutts led the Scots going an impressive 3-3. Christensen finished the game strong, allowing eight hits and striking out four.

The Scots held strong with the Spartans in the second game of the double header and forced the game into extra innings. Robinson reached first on an error, stole second, was advanced over by Parer, and then scored on a wild pitch to go up 1-0. The Spartans came back and scored two runs of their own in the fourth, but Monmouth fired again and tied the game in the sixth when Hennefent hit a double to score Katie Hamilton. The game stayed at a standstill and was forced into an eighth inning. The Spartans scored on a wild pitch with two outs. Monmouth got the last batter out on a fly out to center field, but failed to hit in a run of their own in the eighth. The women lost 3-2.

Shimmin and the rest of the coaching staff hope that Christensen and the rest of the women are on top of their game this weekend as they travel to Wisconsin to play all the teams in the North Division. They start off with a game against Beloit, and then play Carroll and Lawrence on Saturday, April 8, followed by Ripon and St. Norbert on April 9.