ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Elmhurst College softball team closed out its 2017 campaign by splitting a doubleheader with the University of Chicago.
 
Elmhurst dropped the opening game 7-5 in 12 innings but rebounded to take the nightcap 9-6, thanks in part to a Tara Cannella three-run triple n the sixth.

CHICAGO 7, ELMHURST 5 (Game One ) – Chicago scored a run in the top of the seventh and then added two runs in the 12th to earn a 7-5 win in extra innings.

Chicago grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Elmhurst pulled even after a bases loaded wild pitch allowed Val Perrelli to score in the bottom of the first. The Maroons went back in front in the third as a two-out error on the Bluejays allowed a pair of runs to score.
 
Elmhurst battled back with two outs in the fourth. With runners at second and third and two down, Perrelli singled to center to score Tara Cannella. The throw to the plate sailed over the catcher's head, allowing Erin Steik to score the game-tying run.
 
The tie did not last long as Maeve Garvey singled home the go-ahead run in the top of the fifth to put Chicago in front 4-3. Elmhurst answered back in the bottom of the sixth. Perrelli led off the inning with a single to center and promptly scored on Lauren Rismondo's RBI double off the left field wall. After a walk and back-to-back groundouts left runners at second and third with two outs, Bri Getzloff came up clutch for the Bluejays, singling through the left side to put Elmhurst in front for the first time all game at 6-5.
 
Chicago quickly pulled even in the top of the seventh. With the outfield playing shallow, Anna Woolery tripled to left field and scored on Garvey's RBI single to center.
 
The Bluejays thought they had the game won in the eighth when Stephanie Sturino tried to squeeze home Rismondo from third. Rismondo was called out at the plate on a play that was argued by the Elmhurst coaches.

Both teams went silent for the next three innings as neither squad could muster a run. Chicago broke through in the top of the of 12^th with a two-run double from Maggie O'Hara to put the Maroons in front 7-5. The double proved to be the game-winning hit as the Maroons sat down the Bluejays in order in the bottom of the 12th to earn the win.
 
Getzloff and Rismondo led Elmhurst at the plate in the loss with three hits apiece. Perrelli added two hits, scored two runs and drove in a run while Getzloff and Rismondo also recorded RBIs for Elmhurst. Garvey paced Chicago with four hits, two runs scored and two driven in while O'Hara collected three hits and drove in three.
 
Stefanie Sanids took the loss for Elmhurst, pitching all 12 innings and allowing 15 hits and seven runs (five earned). She struck out six while not issuing a walk. Megan Stoppelman earned the win in relief for Chicago, allowing just one hit and striking out six over the final 6.1 innings of work.
 
ELMHURST 9, CHICAGO 6 (Game Two) – Tara Cannell's bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the sixth helped lift Elmhurst to a 9-6 win in game two.
 
Chicago sent nine batters to the plate in the first, scoring four runs on five hits to race out to a quick lead. Elmhurst answered back with two runs in the bottom of the first. A bases loaded walk to Tara Cannella forced in a run and Mikayla Melone's RBI groundout also drove in a run. Elmhurst surged in front in the second with three runs. Back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Val Perrelli, Rebekah Ondracek and Canella put Elmhurst in front at 5-4.
 
Chicago pulled even at 5-5 in the top of the fourth on an RBI single from Anna Woolery. Chicago loaded the bases with one out in the fifth and the Maroons took a 6-5 lead on a ground out from Brooke Bennett.
 
Elmhurst broke things open in the bottom of the sixth. Walks to Emily Despain and Bri Getzloff put runners at first and second with one out. Perrelli singled home Despain to bring Elmhurst equal at 6-6. After an infield single from Ondracek loaded the bases, Cannella smashed a three-run triple to the gap in right-center in what proved to be the game-winning hit.
 
Ondracek finished a perfect 4-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI to lead Elmhurst at the plate. Cannella added two hits and drove in five for Elmhurst while Perrelli added two hits, scored three runs and knocked in a pair.
 
Despain earned the win from the circle, working seven inning and scattering 12 hits and six runs. She walked three and fanned two in the win.
 
Elmhurst finished the season with a 19-19 overall record and an 8-8 mark in the CCIW.