GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College's marathon softball contest with Monmouth College Tuesday proved to be one for the ages.
At least six school records were broken or tied as the Pioneers lost a 6-5 thriller in 14 innings at the Softball Complex in game 2 of the twin bill. The Fighting Scots also won the first game 4-0.
Team records broken were for innings played (14), putouts (42) and assists (24).
Lydia Stariha '17 set a new school record for assists with 13 and
Melissa Anderson '18 set a mark for innings pitched with 14.
Maggie Remus '18 recorded 19 putouts, tying the mark held by Kelsey Montgomery.
Also in the contest, Grinnell tallied the second-highest amount of bats in program history with 48. Stariha had three hits in the game, while
Andi Leff '18 just missed a school record with two doubles.
Mikyla Murphy '19 singled twice and
Lily Seibert '19 belted a double.
Each team scored a run in the first inning, with Grinnell's plated by Murphy's single to left. The Pioneers went up 3-1 in the second on Leff's RBI double down the left-field line and Stariha's run-scoring single to center.
Monmouth grabbed a 4-3 lead in the third, but Grinnell tied it in the fifth on Stariha's run-scoring bunt that worked its way through the drawn-in infield.
Each team scored in the sixth, with Grinnell's run courtesy of Leff's RBI double to right-center.
Grinnell put runners on base in the 12th and 13th innings but couldn't score. The Fighting Scots then scored in the 14th to gain the victory.
Anderson was a workhorse at the pitching spot, tossing 169 pitches with 117 going for strikes. She struck out two.
Grinnell managed just two hits in the opening game as Monmouth scored solo runs in the second and sixth innings and two more in the seventh. Remus suffered the pitching loss and struck out one.
Three Pioneers moved up the program's career chart during the contests. Stariha jumped into a second-place tie for hits with 129, Leff is sixth in doubles with 21 and Juveland 10th in sacrifice hits with 13.
Grinnell fell to 4-6 in the Midwest Conference and 8-16 overall, while Monmouth moved to 8-4 in the league and 15-12 in all games.
The Pioneers entertain Beloit College Saturday. Action in the twin bill at the Softball Complex begins at 1 p.m.
