RICHMOND, Ind. – The Earlham College softball team scored a doubleheader sweep over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for the first time in program history on Saturday afternoon in Ellie Bewley Stadium.
The outing also served as Senior Day where
Ariel Clarkston was honored as the first graduating senior since the program returned to action in 2024.
GAME ONE: EARLHAM 9 RHIT 5
Shelby Messer earned the win in game one, tossing 5.1 innings with five earned runs on nine hits and two strikeouts.
Mikala Newland entered the game with bases loaded in the top of the sixth, and closed out the final 1.2 innings with one hit and one strikeout.
Offensively,
Shelby Hill went 3-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored.
Mack Harvey went 2-2 with two runs, one RBI and a double.
Ashley Lewis scored two hits with one run, two RBI, a double and a steal.
After a scoreless top to the first inning, Earlham plated four runs on five hits in their first chance to bat. Lewis led off the Quakers with a double, and scored on a single by Harvey. Hill brought Harvey home with a one-out double, and
Drew Tubesing earned an RBI with a single to left field.
Malaya Tanglao brought in the final run of the inning with a groundout to the shortstop that scored Hill.
With two outs and a runner on base in the second inning,
Bo Shelton hit an inside-the-park-home-run on a looping ball to right field. The fielder missed the catch, and Shelton rounded all the bases as the ball bounced into the right field corner.
Trailing 6-0, Rose-Hulman hit a two-run home run to left field in the top of the third. The Quakers responded with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame. Hill led off the inning with a single, and back-to-back hits by Tubesing and Tanglao loaded the bases with no outs.
Cierra James brought home a run on a sacrifice fly, and Lewis plated two more with a single to right field for a 9-2 lead.
After a leadoff foulout in the top of the sixth, Rose-Hulman hit three straight singles, and scored a run with a walk. Newland then came in with the bases loaded and one out, and escaped the inning after a ground double play with only three runs scoring for the Engineers.
GAME TWO: EARLHAM 13 RHIT 6
Kamdyn DePew started and threw 4.1 innings in the win, allowing just three earned runs on nine hits.
Jade Green earned her first career save with 2.2 innings pitched and one earned run on two hits.
Batting leadoff,
Macie Ferguson went 5-5 with five runs scored and three stolen bases. Harvey went 3-3 with four RBI, a double and two steals. Lewis scored three hits with a double and two RBI.
With runners on second and third in the first inning, Shelton brought home Ferguson on an RBI-groundout to the shortstop. In the bottom of the second inning, Harvey hit a two-run double down the left field line for a 3-0 Quaker lead.
Hill hit a one-out double in the bottom of the third, and scored on a double by Lewis to keep the runs coming.
The Engineers scored two runs on four hits in the top of the fourth, but Earlham responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Ferguson led off the inning with an infield hit, and stole second base. Shelton lined an RBI-single to left field, and a walk by
Emmerie Stump loaded the bases. Harvey scored on a wild pitch, and Shelton came home on an RBI-single by Lewis for a 7-2 lead.
Rose-Hulman then brought in three runs on three hits and an error in the top of the fifth inning, forcing DePew out of the game with two runners on and one out.
Ferguson legged a bunt single in the bottom of the fifth, and advanced to third on a pair of errors by the Engineers, which scored
Bella Schatko who led off the inning with a single. A sacrifice fly by Harvey made it a 9-5 ball game.
Green's only earned run of the game came after a leadoff double in the top of the sixth inning came home on a sacrifice fly to center field.
Earlham ended the game with four runs on six hits in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hill shot a leadoff single to center field, and hits by Lewis and Tanglao loaded the bases for a
Caitlyn Brooks sacrifice fly. Ferguson then hit a two-run single to left field, and scored on a single by Harvey to center field.
The Quakers continue HCAC action at Berea College on Wednesday with a doubleheader starting at 4 pm.
