Green Knights Win Four at MWC Classic

From Sports Information Director, April 10, 2011 | Softball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

JANESVILLE - St. Norbert College won four of five games held at the Midwest Conference Classic crossover tournament held at Dawson Fields.

The Green Knights (9-10, 6-1 MWC) lost their opener Saturday 6-5 in eight innings to Monmouth College before winning their last four games. St. Norbert topped Knox College 4-0 and Grinnell College 14-6 later Saturday. The Green Knights then beat Illinois College 8-5 and Lake Forest College 5-0 on Sunday.

Against Monmouth, St. Norbert rallied from a 4-3 deficit with one run in the bottom of the seventh inning but succumbed in the extra frame. Steph Brunette and Kari Corbeille both went 3-for-4, with Brunette stroking two doubles. Brittany Narges, Kayla Krueger and Morgan Buboltz were all 2-for-4 for St. Norbert, which had 14 hits. Corbeille took the loss, allowing 13 hits with five walks and no strikeouts.

St. Norbert had 10 hits in the win over Knox. Krueger twirled a five-hit shutout, walking only one with four strikeouts. Ashtin Schmechel was 2-for-2 with a double, while Brunette and Jessica Kropp were each 2-for-3.

The Green Knights scored seven times in the second inning and won easily against Grinnell. Kropp homered to lead off the inning and Narges later added a three-run double. Narges finished the game 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBIs. Brunette was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Krueger was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Kristin Zimmerman was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Kropp was the winning pitcher, allowing nine hits with one walk and four strikeouts in five innings of work.

Zimmerman's two-run home run in the third inning gave the Green Knights a 4-3 edge against Illinois College, a lead they would never relinquish. Brunette was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run-scoring double, a hit which gave her a St. Norbert season record 12th of the year. Schmechel was 2-for-2, while Corbeille was 2-for-4. Krueger earned the win allowing nine hits in 6 1/3 innings with no walks and four strikeouts, while Corbeille got the save with the last two outs.

Corbeille spun a three-hit shutout against Lake Forest, walking only two with three strikeouts. St. Norbert, which played error free, had eight hits. Kropp's two-run double in the first inning fueled a three-run frame. The Green Knights then picked up a pair of unearned runs in the fourth inning. Brunette, Narges and Buboltz were all 2-for-4.