The Westminster College softball team completed their second conference sweep of the season with two wins over Iowa Wesleyan College on Wednesday, April 1. The Westminster Blue Jays short-gamed the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers in game one, 8-0, and went on to win game two, 5-1. The Blue Jays sit at 5-1 in conference play and improve to 6-11 on the season.
Game One
The Blue Jays jumped on the board in the second inning with a two out, two RBI single to right field by sophomore Brittany Hodge to score freshmen Amelia Knipfel and Kat Cooper. In the third inning, Westminster sophomore Alyson Hahn added two more runs to the board with her two out, two RBI single to left to score sophomore Anne Baker and freshman Kim Morrison.
The Blue Jays doubled their score in the fourth inning to take the 8-0 lead. Hodge started the rally with a RBI double to right center, scoring freshman Abby Bartley. Freshman Amber Tepen singled to left field to score Hodge, and sophomore Alyssa Johnson singled to right field, scoring Tepen and sophomore Kelsi Hill.
The Blue Jays held the Tigers to just one hit over the next two innings, ending the game after the fifth inning with the score of 8-0.
Hahn grabbed the complete game shutout win on the mound, improving to 4-4 on the season. She struck out four while only allowing four hits.
Hahn also dominated on the plate. She went 3-3 and grabbed two RBI. Tepen finished with three hits, one run and one RBI. Bartley and Hodge both finished with two hits, and Hodge had three RBI.
Game Two
Neither team got on the board in game two until the third inning. A Morrison double to left field scored Tepen and Hill, and Morrison advanced to third on the throw. On the next at bat, Johnson hit a single to the outfield to bring in Morrison and take a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Iowa Wesleyan scored off an error to put themselves on the board, but on the next at bat, the Blue Jays completed a double play, ending the inning with just one run scored.
In the top of the seventh, the Blue Jays added two security runs. Johnson hit a RBI double, scoring Cooper. Baker then hit a RBI ground out to score Johnson. The bottom of the inning was three up, three down, ending the game with the score of 5-1.
Bartley (1-4) took the win on the mound. She pitched four innings, struck out two and allowed one run. Hahn came in as relief and earned the save. She pitched the remaining three innings, allowed only one hit and struck out one.
Morrison and Johnson each led the offense with two hits and two RBI.
The Blue Jays will round out their Iowa trip with a doubleheader at Grinnell College on Thursday, April 2.
