The Lawrence University softball team rallied from a three-run deficit to take a 4-3 win in the nightcap and split a Midwest Conference doubleheader with St. Norbert College on Wednesday at Whiting Field. St. Norbert won the opener 8-0.
Gaelen Lombard-Knapp hit a three-run homer in the nightcap for Lawrence (11-14, 4-5 MWC), and Emily Perish pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief to get the win.
St. Norbert (15-14, 8-3) grabbed a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning of the second game. Abby Van Straten had a two-run single, and Jessica Kropp had a run-scoring double in the inning.
Lawrence then tied it in the bottom half of the fourth. Alissa Geipel started the inning with a double and Shannon Murray followed with a walk. After a fielder’s choice ground out, Lombard-Knapp blasted a three-run homer, her second of the season, to tie the game at 3-3.
Lawrence then grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Katie Simonsen started the rally with a one-out double. After a sacrifice bunt moved Simonsen to third, Geipel lined a single to right field to score Simonsen and give the Vikings a 4-3 lead.
Perish then worked around a single and an error in the sixth to keep the Green Knights from tying the game.
St. Norbert threatened again in the seventh when Brittany Narges hit a one-out triple. With the infield playing in, Kayla Krueger grounded to shortstop Cory Paquette, who threw home to cut down Narges trying to score. Lombard-Knapp then fired back to Diduch and tagged out Krueger, who was trying to advance to second, to end the game.
Geipel and Diduch both went 2-for-3 for the Vikings in the nightcap.
Krueger, who allowed six hits, struck out five and walked one in going the distance, took the loss for St. Norbert.
In the opener, the Green Knights got a great pitching performance from Kari Corbeille, who tossed a one-hit shutout. The only hit she allowed was was Cathy Kaye’s lead-off single in the bottom of the first.
Kropp went 2-for-4, homered and drove in three runs in the opener. Narges also went 2-for-4 and hit a home run, and Ashtin Schmechel was 2-for-3 with a homer and drove in two runs.
Murray went the distance and took the loss for Lawrence. She allowed 13 hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter.