Last weekend, the University of Chicago softball team played four games consisting of a doubleheader against Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday and another against No. 18 UW–Whitewater on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Maroons hosted the Illinois Wesleyan Titans in the first doubleheader of spring quarter. The Titans held the Maroons scoreless for six innings in the first of Saturday’s two games. Two home runs and one error put Illinois Wesleyan up 3–0 going into the seventh and final inning. In the seventh inning, the bases were loaded when first-year Christie Ambrose singled to bring home one runner, and first-year Holli Jones grounded out to make the score 3–2. However, the Titans managed to strand the remaining runners on base to secure the victory. Third-year Molly Moran had an impressive day, pitching the entire game and striking out eight batters.
In the second game, Illinois Wesleyan got out ahead with a run in the first inning, and a huge fifth inning that put the Titans up 5–0. The Maroons fought back in the bottom of the fifth with one run each from third-year Sara Koniewicz, fourth-year Anna Woolery, and second-year Serena Moss. Woolery’s single brought in one run, and second-year Maeve Garvey also singled to bring in two. Although the Maroons put the tying run on base in the sixth inning, the Titans’ defense held strong to secure the 5–3 result.
The Maroons had a quick turnaround on Sunday morning to take on the nationally ranked Warhawks. The first game of the day turned out to be a high-scoring shootout with four lead changes and multiple shifts in offensive momentum. The Maroons tallied 17 hits and tallied a season-high eight bases stolen. Down 0–1 after the first inning, the Maroons scored three runs in the third thanks to back-to-back hits from second-year Colleen Bennett and Moss and RBI by Woolery, Garvey, and second-year Carly Schulz. The Warhawks responded to reclaim the lead with four runs in the next two innings to make the score 5–3. The Maroons went up 6–5 in the fifth inning, and both teams scored three runs in the sixth. A scoreless seventh inning locked in the 9–8 victory for the Maroons.
The second half of the doubleheader was much quieter on the offensive front, with both teams combining for just 14 hits, compared to 29 in the first game. The Warhawks got off to early lead with a home run on their first at bat to go up 1–0. The Maroons responded with two runs in the third inning off of a single by Woolery to go up 1–2. Whitewater countered with a two-run single in the fifth inning to gain a 3–2 advantage that they held for the remainder of the game.
Koniewicz was happy with the way the team played this weekend and “picked up our energy and intensity from Wesleyan to Whitewater.” The Maroons will “work on timely hitting and stringing hits together” in preparation for four games at home against Wash U next weekend.
