HELENA, Mont. – Carroll softball dropped two close games against Northwest Christian University (8-7) (7-4) on the road in Oregon on Saturday to end the regular season.
Megan Gipe got the start on the mound and started the offense with a RBI single to left center, scoring
Justine Taylor.
Tianna Sell scored later in the inning on a steal home to give the Saints a 2-0 lead.
The Beacons responded in the bottom half of the inning with five runs on two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly. Northwest led 5-2 after one inning.
Carroll answered back in the second starting with a RBI single to third base, scoring
Taylor Ostwald and cutting the score to 5-3. Next batter
Allison Bayer singled to center field, driving in
Jaylin Kenney and
Paige Blake to tie the game at 5-5.
Northwest Christian recaptured the lead in the second inning with a RBI single and back-to-back RBI doubles to claim an 8-5 lead.
The Saints added a run in the sixth after a pass ball allowed Taylor to score and one more in the seventh after a ground out by
Madison Soper but ultimately the Saints fell short 8-7.
The Beacons took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning of the second game after a wild pitch and a throwing error.
Soper got the Saints on the board in the sixth with a RBI double to center field, scoring Gipe. Ostwald and
Kaydee Parsons both doubled later in the inning to drive in two more runs to take a 3-2 lead.
Northwest capitalized in the bottom of the sixth on a passed ball and a wild pitch to score two runs and take a 4-3 lead after six inning.
The Saints tied the game in the seventh after Gipe reached on a fielder's choice that scored Kenney to send the game into extra inning.
The Beacons with two runners on the eighth inning, hit a walk-off three run home run to complete the sweep 7-4 over Carroll.
Carroll finished the season 24-20 with an 11-13 record in conference play. The Saints clinched the top seed in the East Division and will advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament on May 6th – 8th. More information will be coming soon about the tournament.