Alyssa Pearson tossed a five-inning Game 1 shutout and Mady Rainey delivered the winning hit in the eighth inning of Game 2 in Cornell’s 9-0, 3-2 Midwest Conference softball sweep of Knox Sunday afternoon.
The Rams remained in contention for a berth in the four-team MWC Tournament, standing fifth in the league race with four games to go. Cornell has a chance to gain ground next weekend with doubleheaders left against Grinnell and Monmouth.
Pearson (5-10) was on cruise control in the opener, facing only two batters over the minimum for a complete-game two-hitter. Knox’s lone two hits – both singles – came in the third inning. Pearson struck out two and walked one.
The Rams got two hits apiece from Marissa Faletti, Olivia Richards, Addie Bowman and Erin Puck. Faletti, Sydni Coleman and Puck all finished with two RBIs for the Rams, who accounted for all nine runs in their final three at-bats.
Cornell completed the sweep with a Game 2 two-out rally in the top of the eighth. Keith and Richards had back-to-back singles to set the stage for Rainey, who came through with a hit to score pinch runner Mary Puffett for what proved to be the winning run.
Freshman pitcher Skylar McCartney-Puzio (3-3) finished off the Prairie Fire in the bottom of the eighth for the complete-game victory. Center fielder Faletti threw out a runner at third base for the second out. McCartney-Puzio struck out the final batter with two runners on.
Richards continued her recent hitting tear, going 4-for-4 with a run. Julissa Rivera, Zoie Harvey and Rainey had one RBI apiece. The Rams outhit the home team, 10-8.
Earlier in the week, the Rams took losses to 3-2 and 5-3 to Illinois College this weekend.
Cornell was one strike away from taking the opener, when the Lady Blues forged ahead 3-2 on a two-run single up the middle in the top of the seventh inning.
In Game 2, Illinois College struck twice in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. The Rams loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh for slugger Miranda Keith, who was retired on a hard line drive to the right fielder to end the game.
Freshman pitcher Hannah Rhoades (0-4) gave the Rams a quality start in the opener, scattering seven hits over seven innings. She yielded one run in the first and wasn’t scored upon again until the seventh.
Faletti and Keith each recorded an RBI for the Rams. Puck collected two of the team’s five hits. It was Puck’s team-high eighth multi-hit game of the season.
The Rams grabbed a 3-1 lead in Game 2 on Faletti’s two-run single in the second. Illinois College capitalized on a two-run throwing error in the fifth that tied it at 3-3.
Puck was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. MacKenzie Macam and Addie Bowman each scored a run.
Pearson went the distance in the pitching circle. She allowed five singles and only three earned runs.
Cornell also took two losses against Loras in a doubleheader with scores of 8-0 and 9-5.
The young Rams (6-19) showed fight in Game 2, chipping away at an 8-0 deficit to make things interesting late. Cornell rallied for five unanswered runs, capped by a pinch-hit two-RBI single from Mady Rainey that brought the Rams within 8-5 in the bottom of the sixth.
Loras (19-7), ranked in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll last week, scored an insurance run in the seventh and Game 1 starting pitcher Ashlyn Hemm came on to close the game in Cornell’s final at-bat.
Richards went 2-for-2 with a double, a run and an RBI to lead the Rams in the nightcap. Babcock also scored once and had one RBI.
Freshman pitcher Eva Stewart gave the Rams five quality innings in relief, allowing two runs after the Duhawks built the sizeable early lead.
Richards prevented Hemm’s bid for a perfect game in the six-inning opener. Cornell’s No. 6 hitter singled sharply to left field on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Richards’s hit was the lone blemish on the scorecard for Hemm (15-3), who struck out 10.
Loras plated three runs in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. The Duhawks added four more in the sixth with help from a Cornell throwing error.
Cornell starter McCartney-Puzio allowed seven runs – five earned – over 5.1 innings.
Cornell softball sweeps Knox
April 28, 2022