GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College's softball team looked to parlay a tough early-season schedule into a successful Midwest Conference debut.
That goal was accomplished Saturday as the Pioneers disposed of Knox College 7-0 and 5-2 in a twin bill at the Softball Complex. The win puts Grinnell at 2-0 in the MWC and 4-8 overall, while Knox fell to 0-2 in league play and 1-9 overall.
Grinnell's bats were hot all day long, as the Pioneers piled up 13 hits in the opener and 11 in the second game.
Lydia Stariha '17 had four hits in the first game to tie a school record, while
Kayla Morrissey '18 and
Melissa Anderson '18 added two hits. Morrissey and
Andi Leff '18 each had doubles in the contest and Stariha a triple.
Anderson earned the pitching win, tossing a four-hitter without walking anybody.
The Pioneers' offense showed it meant business from the start, scoring four runs on five hits in the first inning. With the bases loaded,
Emily Jordan '19 pushed across a run with a groundout and Leff later added a two-run double to left-center. An infield single by Anderson made it a 4-0 lead.
Grinnell tacked on two more runs in the second. Stariha led off with a triple to left and scored on Morrissey's single. Morrissey later scored when
Mikyla Murphy '19 hit into a fielder's choice.
The Pioneers scored their final run in the fourth when Morrissey doubled down the left-field line and crossed the plate on Jordan's sacrifice fly.
Maggie Remus '18 was the winning pitcher in the second game, scattering five hits and issuing just one walk.
Grinnell had 11 hits, including two each by Juveland, Morrissey, Murphy and Leff. Leff and Ashely Wehrenberg '19 each had doubles among their totals and Juveland a triple.
Knox took a 1-0 lead in the second, but Grinnell tied it in the third when Juveland tripled to center and scored on Morrissey's single up the middle.
Grinnell added another run in the fourth on Juveland's RBI single to center, and increased its lead in the fifth when
Sidney Litke '19 had a sacrifice fly and Wehrenberg a two-run double to center to make it 5-2.
Knox added a run in the fifth, but the Pioneers held on to win.
During the course of the doubleheader, Morrissey moved up the school's career chart in hits (fifth with 116), doubles (10th with 18) and RBIs (third with 62). Stariha is eighth in at-bats (339) and 10th in triples (four), while Juveland is sixth in triples (six), ninth in runs (56) and 10th in RBIs (44). Andrson is fifth in innings pitched with 296-2/3.
Grinnell is slated to entertain Marshalltown Community College in a doubleheader Sunday. The first pitch is at 1 p.m.
