The Grinnell College softball team came oh, so close, to its first victory of the 2011 campaign Sunday, but a three-run rally by Illinois College in the opener of a twin bill gave the Lady Blues a 7-6 victory at Jacksonville, Ill.
The Pioneers then jumped out to a 7-1 lead through two innings of the second game, but the hosts roared back to secure a 12-7 victory for the sweep.
Brianna Gallo ’11 (left) and Amanda Stromquist ’12 (right) each had five hits on the day for Grinnell, which pounded out 14 hits in the opener and 10 in the second game. Gallo also had two steals on the day, making her a perfect 15-of-15 for the season.
Stromquist was 3-for-4 in the first game with a double. Kelsey Montgomery ’11 had two hits, including a triple, Christina Colver ’13 had a double and Aniela Wendt ’14 hit two singles.
Grinnell got on the board first with four runs in the third inning. Montgomery had an RBI triple in the frame, Colver an RBI double and Stromquist a run-scoring single.
Illinois College tallied once in the bottom of the third before Grinnell went ahead 6-1 with solo runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Stromquist had an RBI single in the third and Jessica Menary ’13 a run-scoring single in the fifth.
The hosts answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth to make it a 6-4 Grinnell lead before the Lady Blues won it with three in the seventh.
In the second game, Gallo went 3-for 4 while Stromquist and Hannah Ney ’11 each had two hits, including a double apiece.
Grinnell scored four runs in the first inning, with three coming on Ney’s base-clearing double. After Illinois College scored a run in the bottom of the first, the Pioneers tacked on three runs in the second on Stromquist’s two-run double and an RBI groundout by Montgomery.
However, the hosts scored a run in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth to come within 7-6. They then added four runs in the fifth to take the lead for good and closed out the game with two runs in the sixth.
Grinnell plays its final home games of the season this coming weekend, entertaining Monmouth College in a doubleheader Friday and Lake Forest College in a twin bill Saturday.
