WAVERLY, Iowa – An early 3-0 deficit was too much for the No. 24-ranked St. Olaf College softball team to overcome in a 3-1 loss to the No. 23-ranked Milwaukee School of Engineering at the Waverly Regional of the 2021 NCAA Division III Softball Championship on Saturday morning at Lynes Field.
MSOE (34-9) scored twice in the first and once in the second to take an early lead and Lorrin Pondo made the lead hold up by limiting St. Olaf (26-6) to one run in a complete-game win. Pondo struck out eight and scattered five hits to improve to 17-3 this season.
With the loss, the Oles will take on the loser of the day's second game between second-seeded St. Thomas and fourth-seeded Coe in an elimination game at 4 p.m. That game will be preceded by another elimination game between third-seeded MSOE and fifth-seeded Webster.
The Raiders took advantage of four walks in the top of the first to score a pair of runs and take an early lead. Jenna Trewyn knocked in the first run with a one-out single and Caitlyn Spre drew a bases-loaded walk before Graf got a strikeout to keep the damage to two runs.
Trewyn delivered her second RBI single of the early stages in the second, lining a single up the middle to score Kara McKenna with two outs. After Graf got a pair of strikeouts to leave the bases loaded in the top of the third, St. Olaf got on the board in the bottom of the third when
Annie Landon singled with one out, stole second, and scored on a single to center by
Maya Patty.
After surrendering three early runs, Graf settled in and got 10 consecutive outs by strikeout between the second and sixth innings to keep it a 3-1 game.
The Oles put together a threat in the bottom of the sixth when
Anne Fossum drew a one-out walk and
Hannah Matthies followed with a single to put two runners on, but Pondo retired the final two batters of the inning.
Ally Bode led off the home half of the seventh with a single but was left there.
Graf fell to 20-6 on the season after giving up three runs on five hits while walking five and striking out 14.
