CLERMONT, Fla. - The Elmhurst softball team dropped a pair of close games during the team's second day of a 12-game Florida road trip.
Elmhurst suffered an 8-6 loss to 19th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater to start the day before dropping a one-run decision (3-2) to the Southern Maine.
WHITEWATER 8, ELMHURST 6 - Elmhurst raced out to a 5-1 lead, but Whitewater scored the next seven runs to open up a three-run cushion before holding on for the two-run victory.
Trailing 1-0 after one inning, the Bluejays took advantage of a pair of Whitewater errors in the second to plate four runs. An RBI single from
Mikayla Melone and a two-run double from
Emily Despain helped spark the Bluejays' four-run inning. Elmhurst added a run on a
Val Perrelli sacrifice fly in the third, but Whitewater surged back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third and taking a 6-5 lead with two runs in the fourth. The Warhawks tacked on two runs in the sixth to extend their lead up to six runs. Elmhurst scored one run in the top of the seventh on a Perrelli RBI single, but came no closer.
Perrelli sparked the Bluejays at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
Lauren Rismondo also collected three hits and scored a run for Elmhurst.
Stefanie Sanidas made the start for Elmhurst and took a no-decision, working 2.1 innings and allowing four hits and four runs (three earned). She walked one and struck out one.
Bailee Krantz took the loss in relief, surrendering five hits and three runs (two earned) in 2.1 innings of work. Krantz fanned two while not issuing a walk.
SOUTHERN MAINE 3, ELMHURST 2 - Elmhurst outhit Southern Maine 8-5 but found themselves on the wrong side of a 3-2 final score.
Southern Maine plated two runs in the bottom of the third to take an early lead, but the Bluejays cut the deficit in half on an
Ellie Braun RBI single in the top of the fifth. Southern Maine answered back with a run in the bottom of the fifth to push their lead back to two runs. Elmhurst took advantage of a Southern Maine error in the sixth to close to within a run, but the Bluejays left the tying run stranded at second base.
Bri Getzloff and Perrelli finished with two hits apiece to lead the Bluejays at the plate. Despain took the loss for Elmhurst despite pitching a complete game. The freshman allowed just five hits and three runs over six innings of work. She walked just one while striking out four.
Elmhurst faces the University of the South and Carleton College on Monday, March 20.
