ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst University softball team showed resilience and fight in both games of Saturday's doubleheader against a strong Carthage squad, but late rallies weren't enough as the Bluejays dropped both ends of the series, 7–4 and 6–4.
In Game One, Carthage struck quickly and capitalized on Elmhurst miscues to take a 2–0 lead in the first inning on a double by A. Simonson and a sacrifice fly from I. Hernandez. Elmhurst answered in the second inning with a single by Emma Lenczewski that drove in Clara Rice, cutting the deficit to 2–1. However, Carthage padded its lead over the next few innings with sacrifice flies and a triple from C. Rettler, making it 5–1 through four. A two-run error in the sixth widened the Carthage lead to 7–1. The Bluejays responded in the bottom of the frame with a surge, starting with a two-run triple by Clara Rice, who then came home on a groundout by Tia Splitgerber, trimming the gap to 7–4. Despite the push, Elmhurst couldn't rally in the seventh, and the game ended with the same score.
Offensively, Clara Rice led the way for Elmhurst in the opener, going 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. Ali Mockenhaupt and Danielle Hood each scored a run, and Lenczewski notched her first RBI of the season. Lenczewski also went the distance in the circle, allowing seven runs (four earned) over seven innings while striking out two.
Game Two followed a similar pattern, with Carthage again building an early lead—this time scoring three unearned runs in the third, then adding another in the fourth to go up 4–0. Elmhurst, quiet through the first five innings, exploded for four runs in the sixth. Bailey Proffitt came through with a clutch two-run single, and Danielle Hood followed with a two-run double to tie the game at 4–4. But the tie was short-lived, as Carthage reclaimed the lead in the bottom half with back-to-back RBI singles from Rettler and I. Stombres. Elmhurst put runners on in the seventh but couldn't bring them home, falling just short in a 6–4 defeat.
Proffitt and Rice again paced the offense with two hits each, while Hood tallied her second and third RBIs of the day. Josie Waite also added a double and scored. Chiara O'Leary threw a complete game in the loss, allowing 10 hits and six runs (three earned), while walking two and striking out one.
Despite the pair of losses, the Bluejays showed offensive potential, particularly in their late-inning rallies. Clara Rice and Danielle Hood stood out across both games with timely extra-base hits, and Bailey Proffitt added a multi-hit performance in Game Two, including two stolen bases.
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