KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Elmhurst softball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Kalamazoo College, falling 2-0 in game one but rebounding to take game two 8-5 in 10 innings.
 
Elmhurst moved to 9-24 on the season while Kalamazoo sits at 13-22 overall.
 
KALAMAZOO 2, ELMHURST 0 – Kalamazoo's Keelin McManus limited Elmhurst to just five hits while leading the Hornets to a 2-0 shutout win in game one.
 
Nina Szalkiewi doubled home both runs for Kalamazoo in the fourth inning to account for the game's only runs. The Bluejays had scoring chances in the second, fourth and sixth innings, but the team stranded six runners and finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
 
Rebekah Ondracek and Alyssa Ressinger recorded two hits apiece to lead Elmhurst in the loss. Emily Despain took the loss for Elmhurst, despite allowing just four hits and two earned runs over five innings of work. She did not issue a walk and struck out four.
 
McManus went the distance for Kalamazoo, scattering five hits and one walk over seven innings. She struck out four while earning the shutout.
 
ELMHURST 8, KALAMAZOO 5 (Game Two) – Elmhurst scored three runs in the 10th inning to earn the doubleheader split with an 8-5 win in game two.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the third, the Bluejays moved in front after capitalizing on a Kalamazoo error and scoring three runs. Alexis Ramos delivered the key hit with a two-run triple. Kalamazoo closed to within a run after five innings, but Veronica Zahn single home a run to extend Elmhurst's lead to 4-2. The Hornets scored a run in the sixth and managed to the game in the seventh, but Kalamazoo left the bases loaded in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
 
Mia Riese singled home a run in the top of the ninth to put the Bluejays in front 5-4, but Kalamazoo answered back, tying the game with a run in the bottom of the ninth. The Hornets had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth, but a double play ended the inning.
 
Elmhurst broke things open in the 10th. With the international tiebreaker rule in play, Zahn delivered a one-out single to put Elmhurst in front 6-5. Val Perrelli followed with an RBI double and Ressinger followed with a run-scoring single to give Elmhurst an 8-5 lead. Kalamazoo was retired in order in the bottom of the 10th to give Elmhurst the win.
 
Zahn, Ondracek and Ramos recorded three hits apiece for the Bluejays. Zahn and Ramos drove in two runs apiece while Ondracek scored twice.
 
Sydni Gizynski mad the start and earned a no-decision for Elmhurst. Gizynski worked six innings, allowing nine hits and four runs (one earned). She walked two and fanned two. Bailee Krantz earned the win in relief, tossing the last four innings and allowing just five hits and one run. She walked one and struck out two.
 
Elmhurst closes out its 2019 season by hosting the University of Chicago on Tuesday, April 30.