Green Knights Win Twice on First Day of MWC Classic

From Sports Information Director, April 10, 2015 | Softball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

JANESVILLE - St. Norbert College won its two games on the first day of the Midwest Conference Classic, beating Cornell College 5-4 and Illinois College 18-2 at the Janesville Youth Sports Complex.

The Green Knights (8-12, 3-1 MWC) had just four hits in their win over Cornell (18-4, 2-1), but made them count with three of them driving in runs. Emily Laufer cranked a three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to give St. Norbert a 3-0 lead. Cornell scored in the third but the Green Knights got that run back in the fourth inning on a Laufer solo home run.

Cornell scored three runs on four hits in the fifth inning to knot the game at 4-4, but the Green Knights won it in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh. Laufer led off with a walk, and Gina Mastrodomenico pinch-ran. Amy McBride's bunt forced Mastrodomenico at second, but MacKenzie Hazen followed with a double down the left-field line to plate McBride with the decisive run.

Laufer finished 2-for-2 with four RBIs, while Hazen was 2-for-3 with one RBI. Morgan Rusch earned the win, working 6 1/3 innings allowing nine hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

St. Norbert pounded out 17 hits against Illinois College, taking control early with six runs in the first inning and seven runs in the second.

Leigh Grall's grand slam plated the Green Knights' first four runs of the game, while Morgan Schillinger scored a run on a fielder's choice and Hazen had an RBI single to end the first-inning onslaught. In the second inning, Jessica DeMeuse cracked a two-run home run to get things started. Schillinger and Tayler Long drew bases-loaded walks, while Codi Jenshak had a two-run single. Samantha Gross also had an RBI groundout in the inning.

Schillinger drove in a run on a groundout in the third inning, while DeMeuse had a two-run double and Brooke Wilson an RBI single in the fourth. Jenshak had a sacrifice fly to score the fifth inning's lone run.

Jenshak was 4-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. DeMeuse was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and four RBIs, while Grall was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBIs. Laufer and Wilson were both 2-for-2, while Gross was 2-for-5.

Haley Grunwald earned the win for St. Norbert, allowing five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in the complete-game victory.