GOSHEN, Ind. – It was an offensive clinic from both teams, but it was the Marian softball team taking two from Goshen on Saturday afternoon. The season sweep of the Maple Leafs improve the Knights record to 33-3 overall and 22-2 in Crossroads League play.
Game 1 | Marian 12-11 Goshen
Goshen came out on the attack to open the day racking up five runs on six hits to take the early 5-0 lead after the first inning. Marian had a slow start to their offense, as they went three up, three down in the first three innings.
The Maple Leafs' bats started to cool down in the third inning as they registered no hits and left a runner on after Abigail McPherson came in to pitch for Olivia Stunkel.
The Knights made up for the sluggish start, pounding in five runs in the top half of the fourth inning to tie the game up at 5-5. Savannah Harweger finally broke the silence with a shot down the left field line for a triple, before Anna Pritchett had the RBI single to score Marian's first run. The visitors would score again after Pritchett executed on the throwing error by the hosts, while Grace Meyer's came up big with the three-run homer to tie the game.
McPherson started to find her groove as she went one-two-three with the Maple Leafs in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Marian grabbed their first lead in the top of the fifth inning with Sierra Norman's two-run bomb. However, Goshen answered with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to regain the lead at 9-7.
Norman continued her wreckage in the next inning as she proceeded to drive in three more runs with her double. Greene stepped up next for the Knights, hitting the RBI single to bring Caitlyn Phillips home, who came in to pinch run, giving Marian the 11-9 advantage. Goshen responded by adding another score to trail by one after six complete.
With the one-run lead going into the final inning, the Knights managed to tack on the insurance run after Savannah Baker hit a homerun to center field. After subbing in for McPherson in the fifth inning, Jaylah Guilliam put away the first batter by forcing the fly out, while Stunkel came back in to finish things off and guide Marian to the 12-11 victory.
In Marian's 14 hits, Norman led the charge with a homerun, double, and five RBI in three hits. Five different Knights registered two hits, with Meyer and Baker each recording a homerun, and Harweger logging a triple. Guilliam picked up the win in circle for the Knights. She pitched 1.2 innings, striking out one, and giving up two runs. Stunkel struck out three in her 1.2 innings pitched, while McPherson pitched 3.2 innings.
Game 2 | Marian 7-6 Goshen
Unlike last game, the Knights put together some hits in the early going before their efforts were rewarded in the top half of the third inning when Greene doubled down the left field line to score two. Meyer added another run with her double to center to give the Knights the 3-0 lead. The Maple Leafs answered with a one-run homer, but it was Marian tacking on another run after Phillips stole home.
Goshen got within two after adding two more runs in the bottom half of the fifth, but an RBI by Pritchett padded their lead to 5-2. In the top of the final inning, Meyer's RBI double and Caroline Roop's sacrifice bunt gave the Knights the four-run lead going into the bottom half of the inning. Goshen made a threat in the bottom of the seventh as they cut their deficit to 7-6 after a three-run homer to left field, but Sydney Wilson stayed calm as she put away the final out.
Harweger led with three hits in Marian's 11, while Greene, Meyer, and Phillips all added two. Meyer also picked up two doubles and two RBI, with Greene having two RBI as well. Wilson was the winning pitcher, as she threw all seven innings, striking out one batter.
The Knights return home on Tuesday when they host Bethel at 3 p.m.
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