GRINNELL, Iowa – The Grinnell College softball team celebrated Senior Day between games Sunday afternoon, and that enthusiasm carried over to the second contest.
After losing the opener 9-6 to Ripon College at the Softball Complex, the Pioneers bounced back in the nightcap to post a 3-2 victory.
The split meant both teams remained tied in the Midwest Conference standings with 7-7 marks. Grinnell is 11-17 overall and Ripon is 12-20.
The Pioneers ended their season home run drought twice over, with
Mikyla Murphy '19 belting one in the first game and
Megan Gibson '17 one in the second.
Kayla Morrissey '18 had two hits in the second game, including a double, to move her within one of Grinnell's career hits lead. She has 135, while teammate
Lydia Stariha '17 has 134.
Grinnell opened the scoring in the third when Murphy sent an RBI single up the middle. Ripon tied it in the top of the fourth, but the Pioneers bounced back in the bottom of the inning on Gibson's bomb over the left-field fence.
After Ripon tied it in the top of the fifth, the Pioneers took the lead for good when Murphy reached on an error to plate Morrissey.
Melissa Anderson '18 was the winning pitcher, scattering six hits without issuing a walk.
The first game was tight most of the way before Ripon erupted for four runs in the sixth inning on its way to the win. Morrissey also had two hits in this game, Murphy added a double and
Sage Juveland '17 a triple.
Grinnell opened the scoring in the first inning on Morrissey's RBI single to right-center and Murphy's run-scoring double to left-center. Ripon tied it in the second and scored twice more in the third for a 4-2 lead.
Murphy plated a run on a fielder's choice in the third, while Juveland belted an RBI triple to center in the fourth and Morrissey scored another run with an infield single to put Grinnell ahead 5-4.
However, Ripon had its big inning in the sixth and added another run in the seventh for a 9-5 cushion. Grinnell got a solo homer over the left-field fence by Murphy in the bottom of the seventh, but that's as close as Grinnell could get.
Anderson, pitching in relief, suffered the loss.
During the day, Juveland moved up to fourth on Grinnell's career runs chart with 69 and Morrissey is now fifth with 68. Morrissey is also eighth in career doubles with 20 and Juveland is fifth in triples with seven.
Morrissey's 23 runs this season and Murphy's 23 RBIs both rank sixth.
Grinnell travels to Mount Vernon Wednesday to face Cornell College in a twin bill. The first pitch is at 4:30 p.m.
