Spartans split series with Simpson

Southwestern softball split its series against Simpson College JV Monday afternoon, winning by a walk-off in game one 9-8 and losing in game two 12-9.

“I think offensively today we put together a lot of good at bats, and we did a lot of it with two outs. It’s good to see that a lot of our hitters were really disciplined and made in-box adjustments, which really helped us today. It was just really good to see the offense get rolling,” said Southwestern head coach Nick Weinmeister.

The Spartans saw several arms from Simpson that ranged in velocity and pitching style, something that Weinmeister said was beneficial to the Spartans offense Monday before they enter conference play.

The Spartans got quality pitching appearances from Kelsey Tibbs, Ali Enright and Ella Rutherford. Tibbs pitched game one, going the distance while striking out four and walking none. Enright pitched her way through four innings and Rutherford pitched three innings.

“I thought Kelsey did a good job. The biggest thing was the eighth inning, when we went into extras. She was phenomenal and pitched well, especially with the international rules with the runner starting on second.”

With the ballgame in extra innings, the “international tie breaker rule” comes into play. A runner is placed at second base to start the inning for each team in an attempt to reach a final score more quickly.

“Not letting her advance to third and score was huge for us,” said Weinmeister.

The tandem of Enright and Rutherford in game two fell victim of a shrinking strike zone, but kept the ballgame within reaching distance for the Spartans as the game got into later innings.

“I felt she (Ali) got squeezed a little bit, just from location perspective so she was not getting as many corners as we would have liked so she was having to go middle more,” said Weinmeister. “I thought Ella did a good job of coming in and keep us (in the game) and give us a chance.”

Walking it off

The Storm jumped on the Spartans early, scoring two runs quick in the first inning. The Spartans retaliated in their trip to the plate by getting on-base in four consecutive at-bats, scoring the top third of their order in Klarissa McElroy, Kaitlyn Schad and Enright in the process.

Lindsay Rader also came around to score after a single and a stolen base, making it 4-2 at the completion of the first inning.

Scoring slowed until a two-run homer from Camrey Leo tied it up at 4-4, and a RBI groundout gave the Storm a 5-4 advantage midway through the third inning.

The Storm extended its lead to 7-4 an inning late in the game, but a resilient Spartans team plated two to pull the score to 7-6.

The Spartans tied it up on a Schad line drive to center field, plating the tying run before the final out was made in the inning. The sixth inning the Spartans took the lead after a leadoff double from Enright was followed by a base hit from Rader.

Poised to win the first game of the day, the Spartans could not keep an aggressive Storm offense off the board in the top of the seventh, as a two-out double scored the tying run for Simpson.

The Storm was unable to work the same magic in extra innings, as the Spartans only needed a single down the left field line from Makinna Fitzgerald to bring in Schad, the game-winning run.

Fitzgerald finished the game with four RBIs.

Hot offense

Game two had a slightly different tempo in comparison to game one, with the offense getting hot on both sides. The Spartans ended up just short of sweeping the day, falling short in a 12-9 loss.

The Spartans offense exploded in the fifth inning, batting around and plating six runs.

Hannah Perez, McElroy, Schad, Enright, Fitzgerald and Rader all scored in the inning as Southwestern lineup knocked each other around the bases.

The run party came after the Spartans allowed seven runs in the top half of the fifth inning, an inning that put the Spartans behind 11-1 before getting to bat in the fifth.

Both sides found their way on base by driving in runs with two outs and capitalizing on runners in scoring position. Weinmeister said the success for both ends stemmed from confidence at the plate.

“I expected the second game to be more of a pitchers duel and it didn’t turn out that way,” said Weinmeister. “I think it was because both sides were confident offensively. ... I think our hitters were finally finding their groove and they were excited to get opportunities.”

UP NEXT – The Spartans will next play Wednesday, hosting Indian Hills CC for a doubleheader that starts at 1:00 p.m.

Southwestern 9, Simpson 8 (8)

R  H  E

SIMP  203  200  10  —  8 9  1

SWCC  400  211  01  —  9  14  2

SIMP: Mary Leopold 4IP 1K 2BB, Mackenzie DePhillips 2IP 1BB, Liv Erickson 1IP, Brooke Fonley 1IP. SWCC: Kelsey Tibbs 8IP 4K. W —Tibbs (1-5). L - Fonley. HR – SIMP: Camrey Leo. 3B – SIMP: Amron Born. 2B – SIMP: Hailey McDowell (2), Leo. SWCC: Kaitlyn Schad, Ali Enright. RBI – SIMP: Leo (2), Allen, Born, Leopold. SWCC: Makinna Fitzgerald (4), Lindsay Rader (2), Amaya Porch, Schad, Enright. Stolen bases – SIMP: Kayley Thomas, Kat Velaquez, Maxie Saceda-Hurt, Born. SWCC: Rader (2), Cayla Maitlen, Fitzgerald.

Simpson 12, Southwestern 9

R H E

SIMP  202  071  0  —  12 9  1

SWCC  100  060  2  —  9  14  2

SIMP: Lizzy Adams 3.0IP 2K, Mackenzie DePhillips 1IP, Emily Shilke 0.0IP 1BB 1HBP, Brooke Fonley 2IP 1K . SWCC: Ali Enright 4IP, Ella Rutherford 3IP . W —Adams. L - Enright (0-1). 2B – SIMP: Hailey McDowell (2), Leo. SWCC: Perez, Enright, Rutherford. RBI – SIMP: Hughes (2), Velasquez (2), McDowell, Millbrodt, Thomas, Leo. SWCC: Enright (2), Rutherford (2), Fitzgerald, Rader, Perez, Maitlen. Stolen bases – SIMP: Grace Millbrodt, Brianna Marquez, Porter.