JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Grinnell College's softball team came up short in Friday's doubleheader at Illinois College, losing 9-1 in the opener and 11-2 in the nightcap.
 
The Pioneers were hindered by errors, committing four each game. In the opener, Grinnell had two hits as Leila Bishop-Parise '21 and Sidney Litke '19 each singled.
 
The Lady Blues jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Grinnell scored in the fourth inning when Bishop-Parise crossed the plate on an error. The Lady Blues added two runs in the bottom of the inning and two more in the fifth for the win.
 
Grinnell had five hits in the second game, including two singles by Maddie Matsubara '22 and a double from Darice Wheeler '21. Singling for Grinnell were Mya Davis '21 and Flynn Johnson '21.
 
The Lady Blues again got out to a 5-0 lead before Grinnell scored in the third as Davis sent an RBI single to center, scoring Matsubara. Illinois College scored in the bottom of the inning, but Grinnell countered in the top of the fourth as Wheeler sent a run-scoring double down the left field line to plate Bishop-Parise.
 
Illinois College bounced back from there to earn the win, improving to 9-3 in the MWC and 14-10 overall. Grinnell is now 6-4 in the league and 9-19 in all games.
 
During the games, Emily Jordan '19 moved up to fourth on Grinnell's career games played list with 129, while Ashley Wehrenberg '19 is sixth in games played and fourth in games started, both with 126. Litke moved into the No. 8 spot for games played with 125.
 
Wheeler is fourth in career walks with 44 and eighth in doubles with 21, while Jordan moved up to sixth in career putouts with 361.
 
The Pioneers celebrate Senior Day Saturday when Knox College visits for a league doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m. at the Softball Complex.