ROCHESTER, Minn. – A new season brought a pair of victories for the Grinnell College softball team at the Rochester Dome Tournament Saturday.
Highlighting the wins was a tied school record for triples in a game during the Pioneers' second contest, an 11-1, five-inning victory over North Central University of Minnesota. Earlier in the day, Grinnell rolled past Macalester College 7-1.
The Pioneers' 29 total bases against North Central rank fifth in program history. The team tripled three times, matching the total Grinnell has put up on three other occasions in program history.
Grinnell pounded out 14 hits in the win, with
Emma DiGiacomo-Zahller '24,
Amanda Ramirez '23,
Taylor Durak '24,
Kyra Killion '24 and
Emma Nelson '23 each getting two. Durak and Killion each had homers among their totals. For Durak, the round-tripper marked homer No. 7 in her career which puts her sixth in program history.
Maddy O'Bryan '24 and
Emma Trani '26 were impressive on the pitching front, combining for a two-hitter. O'Bryan fanned seven batters and Trani one.
Grinnell bolted out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning as Durak belted a two-run homer, Nelson a two-run single and
Jasmine Oda '25 a run-scoring double.
North Central scored once in the top of the third, but the Pioneers responded with five in the bottom as Killion hit a two-run homer,
Hannah Dykstra '25 and DiGiacomo-Zahller each plated runs with triples and Ramirez had an RBI single.
DiGiacomo-Zahller had three of Grinnell's 12 hits in the first game, while
Alexa Okada '24,
Samantha Chu '24 and Durak added two apiece.
Christin Hartman '24 and
Kathryn Vermeulen '24 combined pitching duties, with Hartman striking out five and Vermeulen two.
Macalester scored once in the top of the first before Grinnell answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning with the aid of Durak's RBI single and
Lizzy Vermeulen's '24 run-scoring double.
DiGiacomo-Zahller had an RBI double in the second and Chu knocked in a run with a single to make it 6-1. Grinnell completed the scoring in the fourth on an RBI single by Ramirez.
Grinnell plays two more games at the event Sunday.
