ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Elmhurst softball team slipped to 12-6 overall after dropping both ends of a doubleheader with Benedictine University. Elmhurst dropped the opener 6-2, and fell 6-5 in extra innings in the night cap.
 
BENEDICTINE 6, ELMHURST 2 (Game One) – Benedictine (13-4) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and held off the Bluejays for a 6-2 victory.
 
Benedictine started quickly, grabbing a 3-0 lead in the first inning after Sarah Koch smashed  a three-run homer to left field.  The Eagles made it 4-0 in the second on an RBI double from Shannon Fritsche.  An RBI single from Chelsea White put the Eagles up 5-0 in the fourth inning.
 
Elmhurst threatened in three of the first four innings by putting the leadoff runner in scoring position with only one out, but the Bluejays came up empty on each occasion.
 
The Bluejays broke through in the sixth, scoring their first run on Crystal Marinelli's RBI groundout. A run-scoring single from Meg Griffin accounted for the Bluejays final run of the inning. Benedictine added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to make the final score 6-2.
 
Katie Boals led Elmhurst at the plate, finishing with three hits in four at bats while also scoring a run. Brianna Thompson and Griffin each collected two hits in the loss.
 
Stephanie Sturino suffered her first loss of the season, falling to 3-1 after surrendering seven hits and five runs (three earned) in four innings of work. Benedictine's Holly Haberkorn earned her sixth victory of the year, tossing a complete game and scattering nine hits and two runs. She walked three and struck out one.
 
ELMHURST BENEDICTINE (Game Two) – Benedictine rallied from a 5-1 deficit to defeat the Bluejays 6-5 in eight innings.
 
Benedictine scored first with a run in the top of the third, but the Bluejays responded by sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring five runs in the bottom of the third. Tiffany Potthast delivered a two-out, two-run triple to help spark the Bluejays' inning. Alyssa Jasinski and Lauren Rismondo both drove in a run to help the Bluejays' cause.
 
Benedictine cut into the lead in the fourth with a two-out, two-run pinch hit double by Alex Daviera. The Eagles pulled to within a run in the fifth on an RBI single from Haberkorn.

Benedictine threatened in the top of the sixth, putting the first two batters on base, but after a sacrifice bunt, Boals struck out Fritsche and induced Chelsea White to fly out to end the inning.
 
Benedictine pulled even in the top of the seventh, taking advantage of an Elmhurst error that prolonged the inning. A sacrifice fly from Courtney Grasz tied the score at 5-5.
 
The Eagles scored the winning run in the top of the eighth. Kelsey Jeffries led off the inning with a double.  She moved to third on a ground out and came home to score on a wild pitch.
 
After totaling seven hits in the first three innings, Elmhurst managed just one hit over the final five innings. Jasinski, Potthast and Ele Walter totaled two hits apiece to lead the Bluejays in the loss. Potthast drove in two runs and scored a run while Jasinski finished with a run scored and an RBI.

Boals suffered the loss in relief for the Bluejays, falling to 3-4 in the process. She allowed three hits and two runs (only one earned) in three innings of work. She struck out one while not issuing a walk.  Eryn Pondo picked up the win in relief for Benedictine, working 5.1 innings and allowing just one hit and one walk.
 
Elmhurst travels to Blackburn College for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 4.