WINONA, Minn. – After returning briefly from a Spring Break trip to California, the Carleton softball team hit the road once again for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Atheltic Conference (MIAC) opener. The Knights dropped both ends of the doubleheader by identical 10-1 scores.
The visitors drew first blood in both games, scoring their lone run in each contest in the top of the first. Unfortunately Carleton found the trekking more difficult over the balance of the contest as Saint Mary’s swept its home opener.
Trailing 1-0 in the third inning of the opener, the Cardinals erupted for eight runs, seven of them unearned against Carleton starter Mari Jo Long (Sr./Willmette, Ill./New Trier). The biggest blow of the stanza was a grand slam off the bat of Kellie Simons, the No. 9 hitter in the Saint Mary’s lineup. That drive to right-center field pushed the hosts in front for good and highlighted her 3-for-3, five RBI game.
Five different players had hits for Carleton, including doubles by Alex Schefter (So./Mt. Vernon, Iowa) and Sarah Marks (Fy./Brooklyn, N.Y./Packer Collegiate).
Michael Johnson (Jr./Minneapolis, Minn./Blake) scored Carleton’s early run in game two as she went 2-for-3 in the affair. The Knights managed only four hits.
This time Saint Mary’s didn’t wait to counter, plating four runs in the bottom of the frame. A six-run fourth inning finished the scoring.
The Knights (1-12, 0-2 MIAC) travel to St. Joseph, Minn. to face the College of Saint Benedict on Tuesday, March 31 at 4 p.m. The home opener is slated for Thursday, April 2 vs. Gustavus Adolphus.