Scots Softball Splits Against Knox

Warmowski has big day at plate, Leber tosses shutout

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (04/24/2021) — The Monmouth College softball team got a complete game shutout from Abby Leber (Tremont, Illinois) in game one of a double header Saturday but eventually settled for a split against Knox College. With a 7-0 win and a 5-2 loss the Scots are now 3-15 overall, 2-6 in Midwest Conference action.

"Game one was good for us," said coach Alexa McClaughry. "We had a lot of people putting the ball in play and hitting the ball hard. Scored a bunch of runs from top to bottom and good to get that win, we still have to learn to win two."

The Scots got things going in the bottom of the first inning in game one. Calista Warmowski (Spring Grove, Illinois) led off with a triple and she scored on a groundout by MyKenzie Kloess (Dupo, Illinois).

Leading 1-0 in the third the Scots added on through the top of the order. Warmowski doubled and came home on a single by Jessica Pauley (Moline, Illinois for a 2-0 lead.

The Scots added on in the fifth with more doubles. Addison Riley (Illinois City, Illinois) doubled and came home on Warmowski's second double of the game. Kloess singled home Warmowski for a 4-0 Scots lead.

The final runs of the game came in the bottom of the sixth. Madelyn Belville (Rushville, Illinois) doubled, moved to third on a flyout and came around to score on a single by Warmowski. Kloess singled and both runners moved up on the throw to third. Pauley doubled home both runners for a 7-0 Scots lead.

Leber threw a two-hit shutout for the win. She struck out eight and did not issue a walk. Leber is now 3-7 on the season with 42 strikeouts in 58 innings.

"Abby pitched a good game in the opener," said coach McClaughry. "The three at the top definitely help us and they made some adjustments in practice and hopefully it continues to work for us."

In game two Knox scored four unearned runs in the top of the first against pitcher Emilie Cain (Lake Villa, Illinois). The Scots committed back-to-back errors with two outs, allowing the first run to score. A walk loaded the bases and a double gave Knox a 4-0 lead.

The Scots came right back through the top of the order again. Warmowski singled, Kloess singled and Pauley singled to load the bases. Kassidy Johnson (Petersburg, Illinois) ran for Pauley and with one out Belville drove in Warmowski with a single. Kloess was thrown out at the plate on a fielder's choice grounder to third and Monmouth left the bases loaded.

The Scots got a leadoff triple from Kloess in the third but didn't score. They had second and third with one out in the fourth and didn't score. Trailing 5-1 the Scots loaded the bases with two outs but a flyout ended the inning.

"We have to learn to take advantage of some opportunities on the basepaths,' said coach McClaughry. "There's no reason we shouldn't have scored some runs late in the game."

The Scots did get a run in the seventh but couldn't close the gap. Pauley led off with a double and she moved to third on a single by Sarah LaHood (East Peoria, Illinois). With one out Brittney Enos (Fisher, Illinois) singled home Pauley as LaHood moved to second. A fielder's choice left the Scots with the tying run at the plate but a pop up to shortstop ended the game.

Cain had a complete game as she allowed just one earned run on three hits over seven innings. She walked six and struck out one in her second start of the season.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Warmowski set a career-high in hits (4), runs (4), doubles (2), total bases (8) and extra-base hits (3)...The four hits, two doubles and four runs scored are all one off the Monmouth single-game record...The last time a Monmouth player scored four runs in a game was Charlotte Park on April 17, 2014....The eight strikeouts are a career-high for Leber who struck out seven against Illinois College and Fontbonne...Leber has six complete games in nine starts this season...She has two shutouts, both at home, tied for the 12th most in Scots single-season history...The Scots had eight doubles and two triples on the day...Warmowski was 4-for-7 on the day with five runs scored...Kloess, Pauley and LaHood had two hits in both games...Pauley had a double in each game and now has 19 career doubles, tied for 13th on the Scots career list...She leads the team with 14 RBI and has 41 on her career, four shy of the top 20.Alison Trettin (Manito, Illinois) returned to the lineup as the DP after missing the last 12 games with an injury...The Scots play a Sunday doubleheader at Grinnell College with a 1 p.m. start time...The next home game is Thursday against Grinnell with a 3 p.m. double header.