ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Roosevelt University softball team continued its historic campaign and march toward clinching the third seed in next week's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Softball Tournament, sweeping a key league doubleheader against perennial power St. Francis (Ill.) at The Parkway Bank Sports Complex on a sunny Thursday, April 29.
Thursday's twinbill takeover was Roosevelt's first sweep of the Fighting Saints since the program's first season in 2013.
Roosevelt used late-game magic to overcome the Saints' 1-0 lead in the opener, as Destini Nolan (FR/Midlothian, Ill.) tied the game in the sixth with an infield RBI hit and, after Reyann Kruger (SO/Perrysburg, Ohio) led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple, Rebecca Bluder (JR/Downers Grove, Ill.) delivered a walk-off RBI single to bring Kruger home for the Lakers' 2-1 comeback victory.
Kate Sisson (SO/Martinsville, Ind.) continued her stellar season with a complete-game four-hit showing, her 12th complete game and 13th win of 2021.
The Lakers kept the momentum going from that walk-off win into the early innings of the nightcap en route to a 9-4 victory in game two.
Roosevelt scored a run in the first on another Bluder RBI, this time a groundout, and the Lakers tacked on a three-spot in the second on Kelly Farmer (JR/Evergreen Park, Ill.)'s two-run double and Kruger's RBI single.
St. Francis, a team receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Poll, cut its deficit in half with a two-run third, but starter Hailey Getz (JR/Evergreen Park, Ill.) evaded further damage and kept the Lakers' lead intact.
That positioned Roosevelt to pad its lead significantly with a fantastic fourth, as the Lakers scored four more times. Jessica Schneider (FR/Las Vegas, Nev.) drove in a run on a sac fly, Ashlyn Kitter (SO/Grayslake, Ill.) hit a two-run double and Bluder hit a sharp single off the third baseman to get another run in.
Nolan came up big again with a run-scoring double, her third hit in three at-bats, in the fifth to extend RU's lead to seven runs.
Getz overcame various USF threats with plenty of offensive cushion to work with in earning her ninth win of the year.
GAME 1 DETAILS
Score: St. Francis 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 1
Roosevelt 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 9 0
W: Sisson L: Vachon
Records: Roosevelt 31-12, 12-7 CCAC // St. Francis 18-7, 8-5 CCAC
Location: The Stadium at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex | Rosemont, Ill.
THE NUMBERS
- Rebecca Bluder went 2-for-4 and drove in the game-winning run
- Kate Sisson allowed just four hits and one run while fanning five for the win
- Destini Nolan drove in the game-tying run
- Mia Signore (FR/Tinley Park, Ill.) went 2-for-3 and scored the tying run
- Reyann Kruger went 2-for-3, leading off the seventh inning with a triple to set the stage for the Lakers' walk-off win
- Ashley Kitter had a hit, a walk, was hit by a pitch and stole a base
NEWS & NOTES
- Roosevelt extended its winning streak to five games
- The win was Roosevelt's first against St. Francis since April 14, 2015
- The victory snapped a seven-game skid against the Fighting Saints
- Sisson improved to 13-5 on the season
- Sisson is 5-1 with a save in her last seven appearances
- Kruger's three-bagger was Roosevelt's 22nd triple of the year
- The Lakers entered the day ranked fifth in the NAIA in total triples
GAME 2 DETAILS
Score: St. Francis 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 4 10 1
Roosevelt 1 3 0 4 1 0 X 9 13 1
W: Getz L: Tucker
Records: Roosevelt 32-12, 13-7 CCAC // St. Francis 18-8, 8-6 CCAC
Location: The Stadium at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex | Rosemont, Ill.
THE NUMBERS
NEWS & NOTES
- Roosevelt last swept a doubleheader from St. Francis on April 25, 2013
- The Lakers extended their winning streak to six games
- Thursday marked Getz's seventh complete game and ninth win of 2021
- Roosevelt has won three consecutive doubleheaders
- Nolan now has 20 RBI, giving the Lakers six hitters with at last 20 runs driven in this year
- The Lakers finished with 22 hits during the doubleheader
NEXT UP
The Lakers take on Judson University at the Judson Softball Complex in Elgin this Friday, April 30 starting at 3 p.m. Live coverage is available here.
