APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University softball team took a pair of tight games from Beloit College on Wednesday in a Midwest Conference doubleheader at Whiting Field.
Lawrence won the opener 6-4 and then rallied for a 6-5 victory in the nightcap.
In the opener, Meg Krautsch and Kori Looker had two hits apiece for Lawrence (14-9-1, 7-3 MWC) and both drove in a pair of runs. Rookie Sofie Pedersen also hit her first career homer for the Vikings.
Maddie MacLean went the distance, allowing 11 hits while striking out two and walking one, to get the win for Lawrence. Mikayla Martin took the loss for Beloit (4-22, 0-10).
Lawrence led 2-1 as Katie Schumacher picked up a run-scoring double and Krautsch had an RBI single in the second and third innings, respectively.
Lawrence pulled away with four runs in the fifth as Pedersen led off the frame with her first homer. Anna Wawiorka kept the rally going with a double, and Krautsch followed with a run-scoring single to put the Vikings up 4-1. Looker then delivered a two-run single for a 6-1 lead.
Beloit came back to score three times in the sixth to trim the margin to 6-4, and the Bucs had the tying runs on base with one out in the seventh. MacLean then got a foul out and a fly out to preserve the win.
In the nightcap, Lawrence trailed 3-1 before rallying in the bottom of the fifth. Krautsch led off the inning with a double and Taylor Dodson followed with a single. Looker and Schumacher followed with run-scoring singles to tie the game.
The Vikings took the lead in a three-run sixth that started with Tierney Duffy’s triple. Wawiorka followed with a run-scoring single to put Lawrence up 4-3. Wawiorka scored on a wild pitch, and Dodson delivered a run-scoring single and Lawrence led 6-3.
The Bucs rallied for two runs in the seventh against Lawrence starter Jessica Demski, but MacLean came on to retire pinch-hitter Alex Kohn on a ground out for the final out with the tying run in scoring position.
Demski picked up the win, and MacLean notched her second save of the season. Alyssa Boltik gave up 12 hits and all six runs over 5.1 innings and took the loss.
Marsicek, Dodson and Duffy all collected two hits in the nightcap for the Vikings.