NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Junior
Julie Graf threw a no-hitter in game one, as the St. Olaf College softball team posted its second-straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) sweep to begin conference play by downing Gustavus Adolphus College by scores of 1-0 and 5-3 on Wednesday at Mabel Shirley Field.
Graf struck out 11 batters with six walks in her second no-hitter of the season and the third of her career for St. Olaf (14-6, 4-0 MIAC). Gustavus (11-9, 2-4 MIAC) mounted a rally in the seventh inning of game two, cutting a 5-1 deficit to 5-3, but sophomore
Abby Grismer got a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the game.
St. Olaf 1, Gustavus 0 | Box Score
Graf recorded her 10th game of the season with double-digit strikeouts on her way to the no-hitter and St. Olaf capitalized on a pair of errors to scratch across a run in the bottom of the fifth. With just the one-run lead, the Oles held on in the top of the seventh, as Graf got her 11th strikeout of the game to leave the bases filled with Gusties.
Gustavus threatened to get to Graf right away in the first inning, but the junior got a pop up and a strikeout to escape unscathed after the Gusties had a runner on third with one out.
Aly Freeman held the Oles to just two hits through the first four innings before St. Olaf scored the game's only run in the fifth. After the first two batters were retired, sophomore
Jordan Melz singled to center before an error and a stolen base by
Ally Bode left runners on second and third.
Senior
Kate Arneson put the ball in play and scored on the second Gustie error of the inning to allow Melz to score the lone run of the game.
Graf had retired 14 batters in a row until Gustavus mounted a seventh-inning rally. Three walks in the inning helped the Gusties fill the bases with two outs before Graf got pinch hitter Carly Onraet on three pitches to end the game.
St. Olaf 5, Gustavus 3 | Box Score
St. Olaf built a 5-1 lead after six innings before having to hold on in the seventh inning to complete the sweep in a game that ended in near darkness. First year
Sydney Robson got the start and threw five shutout innings to pick up her third victory of the season.
Seven Oles had at least one hit, led by first year
Andrea Conway, who was 3-for-3 with a walk and a run. Sophomore
Abby Grismer and senior
Alison Curry each had a pair of hits, with Curry driving in two runs.
In the bottom of the first, St. Olaf again took advantage of two Gustavus errors to score the game's first run. After the first two batters were retired, senior
Emily Carr doubled to center and moved to third on a throwing error on the play. Grismer, the next batter, hit a ball through the third baseman's legs to allow Carr to score.
An RBI single by Melz doubled St. Olaf's lead in the home half of the third. The sophomore came to bat with the bases loaded and one out and sent a single through the left side of the infield to make it a 2-0 game.
A two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth helped the Oles stretch their lead to 4-0, with one run scoring on an error and another on a RBI single by Curry. Gustavus loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Robson got out of trouble with a called third strike.
The Gusties and Oles traded runs in the sixth, with Gustavus scoring on an error on a stolen base before back-to-back doubles from Conway and Curry got the run back for St. Olaf.
Gustavus got RBI doubles from Ashley Neuenfeldt and Freeman in the seventh to make it a 5-3 game and threatened for more with the bases loaded and two outs. After a four-pitch walk filled first base, Grismer got a three-pitch strikeout to end the game.
St. Olaf continues a stretch of eight games in five days with a trip to St. Catherine University on Thursday, Apr. 4 for a makeup of the postponed doubleheader from Mar. 30. First pitch is at 3:30 p.m. in St. Paul.
