APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University softball team won a thriller over St. Norbert College in the opener Thursday and then blew out the Green Knights in the nightcap of a Midwest Conference doubleheader at Whiting Field.
Lawrence took the opener 2-1 in eight innings, and the Vikings rolled to an 11-2 victory in five innings in the second game.
Katie Schumacher drove in the tying run in the bottom of the seventh in the opener and then hit a grand slam and a solo homer in the nightcap for Lawrence (10-7-1, 3-1 MWC). It was the first grand slam and the first multi-homer game of Schumacher’s career.
In the opener, St. Norbert’s Emily Laufer hit a solo homer in the top of the seventh to give the Green Knights (1-15, 1-7) a 1-0 lead. A one-out walk by Taylor Dodson got the Lawrence rally started in the bottom half of the inning, and Schumacher smacked a two-out single to right to score pinch-runner Marisa Thackston to tie the game.
Anna Wawiorka’s one-out hustle double put the Vikings in business in the bottom of the eighth, and Meg Krautsch laced a two-out single to center to score Wawiorka for the walk-off win. Wawiorka went 3-for-4 in the opener for the Vikings.
Maddie MacLean went the distance for Lawrence and allowed five hits while striking out one and walking none. Lexi LeCalsey went the distance and took the loss for St. Norbert.
In the nightcap, St. Norbert jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Ashley Schuettpelz’s two-run homer in the top of the first.
The lead didn’t last long as the Vikings loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom half of the inning. Schumacher then blasted a grand slam to put the Vikings up 4-2.
The Vikings added three more runs in the second with the help of two errors. Wawiorka stole home in the inning, and Dodson added a run-scoring single to give the Vikings a 7-2 edge.
Lawrence added another unearned run in the third after Savanna Marsicek smacked a run-scoring single.
Schumacher then started a three-run rally in the fourth with a lead-off homer, and Krautsch and Marsicek added run-scoring singles to give Lawrence an 11-2 edge.
Schumacher went 2-for-3, drove in five and scored twice for Lawrence. Marsicek and Krautsch had two hits apiece as the Vikings finished with 11 hits in the nightcap.
Jessica Demski allowed six hits over five innings to pick up the win for Lawrence. Francesca Marrese pitched 1.1 innings and took the loss.