WAUKESHA, Wis. — Liz Barthels tossed a five-hit shutout in the nightcap to help the Lawrence University softball team to a split of a Midwest Conference doubleheader at Carroll University on Saturday.
Carroll (9-21, 4-4 MWC) won the opener 6-4, and Lawrence (15-9, 6-4) took the nightcap 2-0 at Kilgour Field.
Barthels was outstanding, striking out one and walking none, and worked out of a jam in the fifth to preserve her first shutout of the season and third of her career.
Savanna Marsicek went 2-for-4 to lead the Lawrence offense.
Lawrence took a 1-0 lead in the fifth with the help of a Carroll error. Alex Chiodo walked and Marsicek singled three batters later. Her line drive to left field skipped past the outfielder, and pinch-runner Tierney Duffy came around to score.
The Vikings tacked on another run in the sixth after loading the bases on Amanda Jaskolski’s single, Sam Belletini’s double and Taylor Dodson’s walk. Cory Paquette then reached on a two-out infield single to score Jaskolski and put the Vikings up 2-0.
Barthels then retired the Pioneers in order on just three pitches in the sixth and set down the first two batters in the seventh on just two more pitches. She then got Concetta Giralamo to pop up to Paquette to end the game.
In the opener, the Pioneers scored three times in the opening inning and eventually built a 6-1 advantage. The Vikings rallied for one run in the sixth and two more in the seventh but could get no closer. Jaskolski hit a solo homer, her fifth of the season, for the Vikings in the second.
Kelly Strasser and Ashlee Leidall both collected three hits for Carroll. Natalie Ruechel went the distance, allowing six hits, to pick up the win.