From University of Chicago Athletics
Offensive surges in the late innings carried the University of Chicago softball team to dramatic victories over Wellesley College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday.
The Maroons improved to 5-3 and stretched their win streak to four games.
Game One – UChicago 6, Wellesley 5
The Blue grabbed a 2-0 lead in their first at-bat with a RBI double and a bases-loaded walk. UChicago chipped away with a sacrifice fly by junior shortstop Kristin Lopez in the first inning and a RBI single from junior pitcher Jordan Poole in the third inning.
The Maroons trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore outfielder Anna Woolery stroked a run-scoring single to tie the game and later stole home plate as part of a double steal with junior outfielder Devan Parkison.
UChicago was one out from victory in the seventh. A walk and an error gave Wellesley the opportunity it needed, as a subsequent RBI single tied the score. The contest went into extra innings and the tiebreaker rule was put into effect, wherein each team places a runner at second base to start each half inning.
Wellesley went ahead 5-4 in the eighth as the result of a complicated sequence. With runners on first and third with one out, the Blue singled to left field to drive in the lead runner. However, the trailing runner tried to advance all the way home before she was caught in a rundown on the base paths and tagged out by freshman catcher Olivia Haney. The batter was then immediately caught in a rundown as well, allowing UChicago to get its third out to end the frame.
The Maroons began their half of the eighth with a pair of bunt singles from Woolery and Parkison, which loaded the bases with no outs. One out later, Lopez knocked a line drive to center field and two runs scored to give UChicago the 6-5 walk-off win.
UChicago collected a season-high 15 hits and made one error on defense. Parkison led the team with three hits in her five plate appearances. Woolery, Poole, senior Tabbetha Bohac, sophomore Maggie O'Hara and freshman Alyssa Stolmack all tallied two hits each. Lopez recorded three RBI.
Bohac started in the pitching circle and hurled the opening four innings. She allowed four hits, three runs and three walks to go with two strikeouts. Poole (3-1) got the win in four innings of relief. Her stat line included five hits, two unearned runs, one walk and one strikeout.
Game Two – UChicago 7, MIT 3
In the day's second game, UChicago fell behind once again. MIT scored one run in the first, fourth and fifth innings to go up 3-0. The Maroons got onto the scoreboard when Lopez led off the top of the sixth inning with a triple and then scored on a wild pitch.
The top of the seventh inning saw UChicago come up clutch once again. Three-straight singles loaded the bases to start the frame, and O'Hara drew a walk to force in a run. Lopez hit a chopper to second base but the throw home was not in time as the score became knotted at 3-3.
Junior first baseman Kathleen Kohm stepped into the batter's box next and poked a two-run single up the middle on a two-strike count. An error filled the bases once more and freshman pitcher Molly Moran delivered a two-run infield single that bounced off both the third baseman and shortstop.
With a 7-3 lead in hand, Moran then stepped back into the circle in the bottom of the seventh and sat Wellesley down in order to earn the victory. Moran improved her season record to 2-1 with five innings of relief. She struck out five to go with three hits, two runs and two walks. Poole pitched the opening two innings with two hits, one run, one walk and one strikeout.
Offensively, UChicago banged out 10 hits. Kohm hit 2-for-4 with two RBI and Woolery was 2-for-3 at the dish. Moran added two RBI as well.