WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Kalamazoo College softball team continued its spring break trip with two more games against Lake Forest and Franklin & Marshall on Saturday afternoon (Mar. 18). The Hornets split the two games, falling to the Foresters 2-0 and defeating the Diplomats 8-3.
GAME 1 - Lake Forest 2, Kalamazoo 0
The Foresters scored the lone two runs of the game, both being unearned due to errors by the Kalamazoo defense. The first run crossed the plate in the third as Lake Forest executed a double steal, and the throw to third ended up in left field. Then in the fifth, an RBI single to right field brought around the game's final run.
Sam Moss (3-1) went six innings in the circle, allowing two runs (zero earned) on five hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts.
Lucy Hart, Bella Caza, Brynna Garden, and Julia Rambo all collected a hit for the Hornets, with Rambo's being a double.
GAME 2 - Kalamazoo 8, Franklin & Marshall 3
Kalamazoo got the offense going in the first inning of the second game as back-to-back walks by Lizzy Rottenberk and Hart began the game. Then, Moss singled through the right side to score Rottenberk for the game's first run. After two outs and a walk by Cecilia Schihl to load the bases, the second run crossed the plate as a pitch hit Amy McNutt.
The Hornets extended their lead in the third with another two runs. Garden opened the inning with a double, and then Schihl brought her home on a ground-rule double to right-center field. An error by the Diplomats let the second run score as McNutt put the ball in play and Schihl scored on the bad throw.
An RBI single up the middle in the fourth scored the first run of the game for Franklin & Marshall. However, Kalamazoo came right back with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning. Walks by Hart and Caza put two runners on for Garden. She then deposited a three-run home run over the left field fence for her first of the season and a 7-1 lead.
A solo home run in the fifth was the second run for the Diplomats. Then, Moss laid down a squeeze bunt in the fifth to plate Rottenberk from third for the Hornets' eighth run. Finally, in the sixth, an RBI triple by Franklin & Marshall scored the final run.
Jordan Cook (2-2) pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six.
Garden finished the game 2-4 with a double, home run, three RBI, and two runs scored. Schihl reached base three times on a double, single, and a walk while scoring a run and picking up an RBI. Moss had two hits and RBI each, and Jaycee Rider also had a multi-hit game.
The Hornets will continue their spring break trip with two more games on Monday (Mar. 20) against Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Middlebury.