From University of Chicago Athletics
The University of Chicago softball team jumped out to early leads right off the bat and never trailed en route to a doubleheader sweep of Carthage College on Monday.
The Maroons improved to 21-6 and dropped the Lady Reds to 16-18.
Game One – UChicago 7, Carthage 4
UChicago wasted no time offensively and seized the lead by its third batter. Senior shortstop Kristin Lopez banged a double to left center to score one and senior first base Kathleen Kohm followed with a RBI sacrifice fly. A fielder's choice from junior Maggie O'Hara allowed Lopez to score from third base and just like that, the home team was up 3-0.
The momentum continued in the bottom of the second. Junior designated player Anna Woolerysent a slicing double down the left field line to put runners on second and third for Lopez, who doubled down the left field line herself to make it 5-0.
Senior pitcher Jordan Poole worked cleanly through the opening four innings with UChicago maintaining control. However, the visitors struck back in the top of the fifth with a quartet of runs. A hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded brought in one, and then a double to the left field corner cleared the bags. A foul out and a ground out ended the threat.
Clinging to a one-run lead late in the game, Poole stepped up to the plate and helped her own cause. Poole swung at the first pitch she saw in the sixth inning, lifted it to straight-away center field and gone for a two-run homer. The insurance runs accounted for the 7-4 final margin as Poole nailed down the complete-game victory. She improved her season record to 6-3 with seven innings, four runs (three earned), seven hits, two walks and four strikeouts.
The Maroons ended up with seven hits on offense and two errors on defense. Lopez went 2-for-3 with three RBI and Woolery hit 2-for-3.
Game Two – UChicago 8, Carthage 0
The Maroons exploded for six runs to start game two and pitcher Molly Moran cruised through the Carthage lineup for her second shutout of the season.
Senior outfielder Devan Parkison got off to a roaring start with a triple to left field leading off the first inning. She then scored on Woolery's sacrifice fly. Three batters later, O'Hara singled through the right side to make it 2-0. After freshman outfielder Maeve Garvey's single loaded the bases, freshman second base Colleen Bennett lined a two-run single to up the middle. The final two runs of the inning came on a single from freshman outfielder Serena Moss and a fielding error on a steal attempt.
Moran was lights out once again in leading UChicago to its seventh shutout. The sophomore effectively mixed speeds with a hard fastball and a hard-dropping changeup. Carthage hitters couldn't get comfortable at the plate and Moran struck out six while only allowing one hit in her outing. Over her last 29 innings pitched, Moran has only allowed one earned run. She improved her season record to 7-3 and lowered her ERA to 1.71.
The Maroons put an end to the game early via the eight-run rule after five innings. Kohm launched a solo home run to right field and Bennett singled in O'Hara to provide the eighth run in the bottom of the fourth.
UChicago pounded out 12 hits in four innings. Four different players had multiple hits, including Bennett (3 RBI), Kohm (1 RBI), Moss (1 RBI) and Parkison.