WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Kalamazoo College softball team continued its spring break trip with two games against Smith and St. Norbert on Friday afternoon (Mar. 17). The Hornets split the two games, falling to the Pioneers 5-4 and defeating the Green Knights 7-6.
GAME 1 - Smith 5, Kalamazoo 4
The Pioneers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single. However, in the third inning, the Hornets responded with two runs of their own. Lucy Hart got the inning going with a one-out double, and then Sam Moss brought her in on a single through the left side. After Moss advanced on the throw home from her single, Cecilia Schihl knocked another single in the right field grass to bring home Moss.
Smith came back to regain the lead in the sixth inning with the help of the long ball. The Pioneers hit a two-run home run and a solo home run to take a 4-2 lead.
Kalamazoo got one of the two runs back in the next half-inning to cut the deficit to one. Julia Rambo walked with one out, made it to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a groundout, and eventually scored on another wild pitch. Unfortunately, Smith extended the lead back to two in the seventh on a single through the left side.
The Hornets had one more chance to tie the game and force extras or win in walk-off fashion. Back-to-back one-out singles by Moss and Bella Caza put runners on first and third. Brynna Garden plated Moss and advanced Caza to second on an RBI groundout. However, Kalamazoo would fall short as Smith gained a one-run win.
Jordan Cook (1-2) went six innings in the circle, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk. Schihl would come in to pitch the final inning and surrendered one run on two hits and a walk.
Moss went 3-4 at the plate, scoring two runs and collecting an RBI. Hart was 2-3 with a walk and a run as well.
GAME 2 - Kalamazoo 7, St. Norbert 6
Kalamazoo got things rolling in the first inning with the game's first run. After Moss gained a two-out walk, Caza singled to deep right-center field, allowing Moss to score from first. However, the Green Knights responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning from an RBI single and a two-RBI double.
The Hornets got one run back in the second as Natalie Gross executed a sacrifice squeeze that brought in Schihl after she got on from a St. Norbert error. SNC extended its lead to three after scoring a run in the second and two runs in the third. It was an RBI groundout in the second and a double that scored two in the third.
The big inning for Kalamazoo came in the fifth as the Hornets rattled off four runs to take a 6-5 lead. Lizzy Rottenberk led off the inning with a double, Moss reached on a one-out single, and Caza walked to load the bases. Then, Garden doubled to left-center field to bring in two, and Schihl lifted a sacrifice fly to plate a third. Finally, Emma Newlove singled in the last run on a hit back up the middle to center field.
The Green Knights tied up the game in the sixth off a Kalamazoo error. The Hornets responded in the seventh with the game-winning run. Garden reached on an error and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Schihl. Newlove drove in Garden on a double down the left field line.
Moss (3-0) pitched another complete game in the win, allowing six runs (five earned) on 12 hits and a walk while striking out six. She went 2-3 at the plate with a walk and scored two runs.
Caza got on base three times with a double, single, and a walk while scoring once and driving in a run. Rottenberk and Newlove collected two hits a piece, with Garden and Newlove driving in two each.
The Hornets will continue their spring break trip with two more games tomorrow (Mar. 18) against Lake Forest and Franklin & Marshall.