The Westminster softball team found two more wins in Iowa with two victories over Grinnell College on Thursday, April 2. The two wins, 9-5 and 10-8, bring the Blue Jays to an 8-11 record on the season.
Game One
The Blue Jays jumped on the board early in game one, scoring seven of their nine runs in the first three innings.
The Blue Jays began the game with three singles to the outfield, and with freshman Kim Morrison's single in the three hole, sophomore Kelsi Hill scored. With two outs, freshman Abby Bartley singled up the middle to bring in Morrison and freshman Amber Tepen. Sophomore Anne Baker advanced to second on the play, but was thrown out at third trying to advance.
The Blue Jays added two more runs in the second inning with Tepen's RBI double to right center to score Hill and Morrison's RBI single to left field to score Tepen.
In the bottom of the second, Grinnell scored on a triple to left center, but the Blue Jays answered with two more runs in the third. Bartley doubled to left center, bringing home Baker, and sophomore Carlotte King brought in Bartley with a RBI groundout.
In the fifth, Bartley singled up the middle to score Baker, and Tepen doubled in the sixth to score sophomore Brittany Hodge.
Grinnell scored one run in the fiffth and two more in the seventh, but were unable to match the Blue Jays' nine runs.
Sophomore pitcher Alyson Hahn (5-4) was credited with the 9-5 win on the mound. She pitched the complete game and struck out two.
Bartley led the game with three hits and four RBI. Tepen added three hits and two RBI.
Game Two
The Blue Jays combined for eight runs in the first two innings of the second game to aid in their 10-8 victory.
Hill led-off the game with a single to shortstop. She stole second and was brought home with Tepen's RBI single up the middle. Morrison came up to the plate next and hit a double to score Tepen. Sophomore Alyssa Johnson scored Morrison, and freshman Kat Cooper later brought Baker home. A line drive to shortstop ended the inning with four runs on the board.
The Blue Jays scored four more runs in the second inning to take the early 8-0 lead. Hill was back up to the plate and doubled down the right field line. Tepen also hit a double, bringing in Hill. Johnson singled up the middle to bring home Tepen, and Hahn placed the ball through the left side, bringing home Morrison. The eighth run of the game came from Baker's at bat to score Johnson.
Grinnell found home plate in the bottom of the second with a RBI double, and they added four more runs in the third to bring the score to 8-5.
In the top of the fourth, the Blue Jays added two more runs off Baker's RBI single to score Johnson and Hodge's fielder's choice to score Baker.
Heading into the final inning, the Blue Jays held the 10-5 lead. Grinnell put up three runs on no outs to bring the game within two runs, 10-8. After the eighth run scored, the Blue Jays grabbed three quick outs to end the game with the win.
The Blue Jays had four batters with two hits each, finishing with 11 hits throughout the game.
Cooper started on the mound and pitched the first 2.1 innings. Bartley finished the third inning on the mound, and Hahn pitched the final four innings. Hahn (6-4) was credited with the win.
The Blue Jays return to conference play on Monday, April 6 with a home doubleheader versus Webster University starting at 5:00 p.m.
