CLERMONT, Fla. - The Elmhurst University softball team opened competition at The Spring Games Tuesday afternoon, taking down Bates College and Nazareth University.

Elmhurst (3-3) scored 21 runs across both games today, ending both victories early with a 10-2 victory in six innings over Bates and a 11-3 victory over Nazareth in five innings. Effective pitching also kept the Bluejays ahead to secure their first two games in their stay in Florida.

GAME ONE | ELMHURST 10, BATES 2 (6 INN.)

Elmhurst used the bats to power their way to victory in game one, scoring four in both the first and sixth inning with another two in the fourth to cap their 10-run performance. O'Leary and Maddie Kriech led the way for the Bluejays at the plate, with both tallying three RBI and Kriech putting up a line of 3-for-4 with a double and O'Leary going 2-for-3. Bailey Proffitt, Ali Mockenhaupt, and Lauren Polich also tallied RBI's for the Bluejays in the opener, while Brenna Morley and Gianna Amundsen tallied two-hit games.

In the circle, O'Leary earned the win and improved to 1-1 on the season thanks to a complete game of six innings pitched, giving up just four hits and two runs while adding 10 strikeouts.

Elmhurst quickly loaded the bases with no outs in the first, before a fielding error from Bates scored one run, and another error scored a second run to push Elmhurst into the lead. Kriech and Proffitt then singled in another pair of runs to move the score to 4-0 Elmhurst following one complete inning. 

Both teams were quiet in the second and third innings, with O'Leary cruising in the circle, before a two-run single through the left side off the bat of O'Leary helped her own cause and extended the lead to 6-0 in favor of Elmhurst. Bates was able to plate a pair of runs in the top of the fifth thanks to a fielding error, and the score stood at 6-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. 

The bats woke up again in the sixth, with Bailey Hodel getting hit by a pitch and a pair of singles from Brenna Morley and Amundsen loading the bases. O'Leary then worked a bases-loaded walk to score a run, and Polich using another hit by pitch to put the Bluejays up, 8-2. Kriech then finished the game off with a two-run double down the left field line to invoke the run-rule and give Elmhurst the 10-2 win in six innings.

GAME TWO | ELMHURST 11, NAZARETH 3 (5 INN.)

Game two of the day started even hotter for the Bluejays, scoring eight runs in the first two innings and adding another three in the fifth for their second-straight run rule victory, this time an 11-3 triumph in five innings. O'Leary went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI in game two, while Grace Hayes and Clara Rice each tallied two RBI to fuel the Bluejay offense.

In the circle, Gianna Amundsen earned her first win as a Bluejay with three innings pitched giving up two hits and two runs while adding a strikeout to improve to 1-1 on the season. Mockenhaupt was also effective in the circle, pitching two innings in relief and giving up just one run on three hits.

Elmhurst got it going quickly in game two, putting two runners on before an RBI double from O'Leary scored the first run of the game. An RBI ground out from Mockenhaupt and an RBI single from Hayes plated another two runs before a Rice RBI single to center put Elmhurst up 4-0 following one inning of play. It was more of the same in the second inning, with another RBI from O'Leary and a double steal worked to perfection from Amundsen to plate another two runs, and later an RBI single from Rice and a fielding error from Nazareth put the Bluejays up 8-0 through two innings.

Nazareth responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to move the score to 8-2, but Elmhurst put up another three runs in the fifth from an RBI triple by Amundsen, a third RBI single from O'Leary, and a Hayes RBI double to make it 11-2 Elmhurst. The Golden Flyers were able to plate a single run in the bottom half of the fifth from a wild pitch, but would be sat down and allow Elmhurst to take the 11-3 five-inning win.

UP NEXT

The Bluejays continue action in The Spring Games tomorrow, March 20, against Carleton College and Western New England University at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. CT.

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