The Monmouth College softball team dropped a pair of Midwest Conference games at home to Beloit on Saturday. The Fighting Scots (4-28, 0-10) lost both games by one run as Beloit (7-27, 5-5) won 3-2 and 4-3
Beloit took the lead in game one in the top of the first. Monmouth starter Lizzie Durfee (Arlington, Washington) walked the first three batters and hit a batter with one out to score a run. A double play ended the inning with Beloit up 1-0.
The Buccaneers added a run in the third with a single, stolen base, sac bunt and sacrifice fly. Monmouth got on the board in the fourth with a 2-out rally. Grace Wyman (Pekin, Illinois) singled and scored on a double by MacKenzie Gerard (Jacksonville, Illinois).
Beloit added on in the sixth with a run against reliever Addie Greene (Rushville, Illinois). They left the bases loaded and led 3-1.
The Scots rallied in the bottom of the sixth. Wyman tripled with two outs and scored on a single by Gerard. Kendall Lewis (Cambridge, Illinois) doubled to left-center but Gerard was thrown out at the plate trying to tie the game. Monmouth went in order in the seventh, falling 3-2.
Durfee (0-9) took the loss allowing two runs on one hit over four innings as she walked three and struck out three. Greene allowed one unearned run in three innings and struck out one with two walks.
GAME TWO
The game was scoreless until the third when Beloit scored three runs off Monmouth starter Alyssa Hefflefinger (Olin, Iowa). A leadoff walk, single and error scored the first run. Beloit put two on and made it 2-0 on a squeeze bunt. The third run came home on a 2-out single. They made it 4-0 in the fourth with a leadoff triple and RBI groundout.
Lewis walked with one out in the fourth and scored on a double by Addie Narlock (Antioch, Illinois). Riley King (Peoria, Illinois) singled and Narlock scored on a groundout by Brooklyn Millhollin (Peoria, Illinois).
Karliegh Ashby (Monmouth, Illinois) led off the fifth with a walk and she stole second. Wyman singled to bring home Ashby, cutting the Beloit lead to 4-3. Beloit changed pitchers and Gerard reached on a fielders’ choice with Wyman out at second. Gerard moved to second on a wild pitch and Lewis walked to put the go-ahead run on base. Narlock singled, loading the bases but a strikeout ended the inning .
After going in order in the sixth, Monmouth put the tying run on base again in the seventh. Wyman led off with a walk and Liz Waymire (Havana, Illinois) reached on an error with one out. But Beloit retired the next two batters to win the game 4-3.
Hefflefinger (2-8) threw a complete game for the second day in a row but took the loss. She allowed four runs on five hits while striking out six and walking three.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Gerard had three hits in game one while driving in two … She has two 3-hit games on the season … Wyman had two hits in the opener and was the only Monmouth player with hits in both games … Narlock had a career-high three hits in game two while King had two … Narlock, Gerard and Lewis had doubles on the day while Wyman had a triple … Lewis has 20 career doubles, one outside the career top 15 … She moved into 11th on the career walks list with 37, one outside the top 10 … Lewis moved into a tie with Kelsey Barnes (’14) for seventh on the career games played list with 134 … Ashby has 20 career steals, the 10th player in Monmouth history to reach that number … Hefflefinger leads the Scots with four complete gamesMonmouth is 25-15 all-time against Beloit and had been 8-2 in the last 10 … The last time Beloit beat Monmouth more than once in the same season was 1996 … The Scots host Augustana in a non-conference DH at 3 p.m. Tuesday … Monmouth returns to MWC action with a 1 p.m. DH at home on Saturday against Knox.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
