ROSEMONT, Ill. – Haley Huss' three-run inside-the-park home run, a go-ahead two-run single off the bat of Rachel Kubisz and a strong start from rookie Brinn Arwood lifted the Roosevelt softball team to a 5-3 victory over Calumet St. Joseph in the nightcap at The Ballpark at Rosemont on Tuesday.
The win salvaged a doubleheader split for the Lakers (9-18, 2-12 CCAC), who fell 6-2 in the opening game to the Crimson Wave (9-23, 4-7 CCAC).
Huss went 4-for-5 on the day, driving in five runs in the third spot. With two aboard in the bottom of the first inning of the finale, Huss hit a pitch down the right field line and sprinted around the bases to beat the throw at the plate and put the Lakers up three early.
Calumet St. Joseph scored a run in the third and tied the game on a two-out, two-run triple in the fourth, but Roosevelt responded in its half of the fourth.
Two runners were aboard for Kubisz, who lofted a fly ball toward the right side of the infield for what appeared to be the final out of the inning. With the wind swirling and playing games with the ball's downward trajectory, CCSJ second baseman Tiffany Galindo was unable to make a play and the ball dropped to the field. That allowed Lauryn Lewis and Miriam Chamberlain to trot around the bases and break the deadlock.
Arwood did the rest, evading a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and keeping the Crimson Wave scoreless for the final three frames. She finished with seven strikeouts in the complete-game victory.
The win allowed Roosevelt to rebound from a loss in the opener that saw the Lakers strand nine runners on base.
A four-run third broke the game open in the guests' favor, and Roosevelt finally ended its string of scoreless innings by tallying two in the seventh on Huss' two-run single. That was all the Lakers could muster, as they saved their best for the last game.
Roosevelt hosts Indiana South Bend on Thursday, April 13 at 5 p.m. inside The Ballpark at Rosemont.
Brooke Lee races around third after Haley Huss hits a ball down the right field line for an inside-the-park home run.
(Photo: John Konstantaras)
