Softball Knocks off First Place Lake Forest with Sunday Split

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (04/25/2022) — The Monmouth College softball team pulled off a big upset on Sunday and split their double header with first-place Lake Forest on the road. The Scots are now 7-4 in the Midwest Conference after sending Lake Forest to their first MWC of the season, 5-3 in game one and falling 11-3 in game two.

Game one was scoreless into the third inning. Calista Warmowski (Spring Grove, Illinois) reached on an error with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. MyKenzie Kloess (Dupo, Illinois) singled to center, scoring Warmowski for a 1-0 Scots lead. Lake Forest answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning against Scots pitcher Abby Leber (Tremont, Illinois) to tie the game.

The Scots regained the lead in the fourth. Biancha Luna (Monmouth, Illinois) led off with a walk and Leber singled. Kendall Lewis (Cambridge, Illinois) walked to load the bases and Madelyn Belville (Rushville, Illinois) gave Monmouth a 2-1 lead with a single. Lillian Hucke (Aledo, Illinois) singled to shortstop and Leber scored for a 3-1 lead. Warmowski's sacrifice fly plated Lewis for a 4-1 lead before Lake Forest got out of the inning with a double play.

Lake Forest cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth and the Scots answered top seven. Warmowski doubled to left and moved to third on a sac bunt. Kloess restored the three-run lead with a sacrifice fly. The Foresters scored once in the bottom of the seventh but Leber finished off the game with a fly out and ground out to give the Scots a 5-3 win.

Leber (5-10) got the win with a complete game. She allowed one earned run and four hits while striking out two.

Down 1-0 after the first inning in game two, the Scots took the lead in the third with a two-out rally. Pitcher Jenna Pauley (Moline, Illinois) doubled and Warmowski singled home pinch-runner Alex Chamberlin (Canton, Illinois). After a wild pitch, Kloess ginled home Warmowski and Allie Ramlo (Tremont, Illinois) scored on another wild pitch for a 3-1 Scots lead.

Lake Forest got one run back in the third and tied the game in the fourth. They scored seven runs in the fifth inning and run-ruled the Scots with a run in the sixth on a wild pitch.

Pauley allowed just one earned run over four innings in a no-decision as she struck out three. Anna McCarty (Buffalo, Illinois) took the loss for Monmouth.

At 7-4 in the conference, the Scots are in fourth place with five games remaining, one loss behind Grinnell (9-3). Monmouth has one game to finish at Illinois College (11-2), plus a Saturday doubleheader at Knox (1-13) and a Sunday home double header against Cornell (6-6). The top four teams make the conference tournament with Lake Forest and Illinois College already assured of two of those spots.