By HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College Softball team picked up a pair of wins on Saturday over Warner Pacific to split the four-game weekend series at Nelson Stadium.
The Fighting Saints (13-15, 8-8) redeemed themselves after a less than stellar performance on day one of the weekend series. Another fine pitching performance in game one, paired with an offensive explosion in game two powered Carroll to a pair of wins over the Knights (9-24, 6-11).
GAME ONE: CC 3, WPU 0
For the second day in a row, Kennedy Venner (Billings, Mont. / JR) put together an impressive stat line. Venner was outstanding in the third conference game of the series, tossing a complete game shutout in which she allowed only two hits while punching out eight batters on strikes.
Following a scoreless first three innings, Carroll found a breakthrough in the bottom half of the fourth. Following a leadoff walk, Kenna Thomas (Belgrade, Mont. / SR) blasted an RBI double to left center to give Carroll a 1-0 lead.
Kati Slater barreled a shot down the right field line, legging out a triple in the fifth inning before being scored on a Taylor Sayers (Helena, Mont. / FR) sacrifice fly in the next at-bat to double the Saints’ lead at 2-0.
Thomas provided a dagger in the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo shot to straight-away center field. The home run was more than enough insurance, as Venner made quick work of the Knights in a 1-2-3 seventh to secure her eighth win of the season.
The best bat of the day belonged to Kenna Thomas, who finished 3-3 with one home run, two RBI and a run. Sayers went 2-2 with an RBI, while Slater added the lone other Carroll hit of the afternoon.
GAME TWO: CC 6, WPU 4 (Non-Conference)
The fourth-and-final game of the series featured much more action at the plate, as the Saints tallied 11 total hits in the 6-4 win.
A leadoff single from Kati Slater was cashed in three batters later, as Morgan Sunchild ripped a hot-shot down the left field line for an RBI double. Kenna Thomas continued her excellent afternoon, doubling down the opposite line to bring home Sunchild and give the Saints a quick 2-0 lead after one.
Warner Pacific’s Hailey Ferguson provided a response in the second inning, as the freshman left the yard with a solo shot to left field to give the Knights their first run of the day and cut the Carroll lead to 2-1.
A three-run top half of the third inning would catapult the Knights into the lead, as singles from Noe Barawis, Kili Makanani, and Maddie Gamble, paired with some heads-up baserunning would lift Warner Pacific in front 4-2.
Sayers got things started in the bottom half of the third as Carroll looked to respond. Sayers’ leadoff single set the stage for Thomas to add another RBI to her daily total. Thomas knocked yet another ball to the fence on an RBI double. Sammie Labrum (Kalispell, Mont. / JR) brought her home with an RBI single to right field in the ensuing plate appearance, and then would score on a double steal with runners on the corners later in the frame to put Carroll back in front 5-4.
The Saints would add one more insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Alyssa Lybbert (Las Vegas, Nev. / SR) poked an RBI single into left center.
Warner Pacific’s Briana Munoz came into the game in a relief role at the beginning of the fourth inning, but Carroll had already done enough damage with their seven hits and five runs off of starter Nia Tate to secure the win.
Four Saints finished with multiple hits on the afternoon (Sayers, Lybbert, Thomas, Smith), while the top seven hitters in the lineup all finished with at least one hit in the win.
Abbie Amend (Spokane, Wash. / JR) had a strong showing in her second win of the season, finishing with four strikeouts, and just six hits and three earned runs allowed.
The Saints will now make back-to-back road trips to Oregon, playing series’ at Eastern Oregon and Oregon Tech over the next two weeks, before returning to Helena for their season finale series against Providence later this month.
Visit www.carrollathetics.com for a preview of those series, and to stay up to date on everything going on in Carroll Athletics.
