ROCKFORD, Ill. -- The Rockford University softball team took on the Beloit College Buccaneers on Friday. They split the two games, taking game one 6-5 and dropping game two 5-2.
The Regents will return to action tomorrow, March 21, for their conference home opener against MSOE starting at 12:00 p.m. CDT.
Game One: Rockford 6, Beloit 5
Liz Mois picked up where she left off at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs, and an inside-the-park home run.
Neelah Vandeberg was solid as a rock in the box, going 3-for-4 with three singles.
Tayiah Scanlan added two hits of her own, a double and a single.
Kendall Knoll got the start in the circle, throwing three innings and striking out two while giving up seven hits and three earned runs.
McKenna Morris entered in relief, shutting down the Buccaneers across four innings. She gave up just two hits and no runs on the way to earning her first win of the season.
Beloit got the scoring started off in the first inning. They scored two runs off of two hits to go up 2-0 right off the bat.
Rockford mirrored the Bucs in the bottom half of the inning. Mois' inside-the-parker to right field drove in
Mia Cosentino as well, tying the game at two apiece.
The Buccaneers added another run off of a Regent's error in the second and tacked on two more in the third to go up 5-2.
Mois got it going again in the bottom of the third, driving in
Tomi Hill with a triple to left center. She scored after a Buccaneer error. The score was 5-4 Beloit after three.
Morris came into the game in the fourth and wouldn't allow the Bucs to score another run. Rockford tied the game in the bottom of the fifth as Vandeberg was able to steal home with bases loaded.
It all came down to the bottom of the seventh inning. Vandeberg singled to lead off the inning and then Hulsey reached base on an error. The Regents were in prime position with two runners on and no outs.
The next two batters proceeded to strike out and make things interesting. Scanlan walked to load the bases, putting
Kieran Madigan at the plate with an opportunity to win it. Madigan drew a walk, bringing the winning run home and walking off Beloit 6-5.
Game Two: Beloit 5, Rockford 2
Two Regents finished with multiple hits in game two.
Olivia Lysaght got the start in right, going 2-for-3 with two singles.
Nicole Paris was also 2-for-3 with two singles as well.
Liz Mois and
McKenna Morris drove in both the Regents' runs with a double apiece.
Claire Shanahan went the distance in the circle, throwing all seven innings. she struck out three and gave up four earned runs in the outing.
The second game had a much similar start to the first. Beloit singled three times in the first inning en route to taking a 1-0 lead. Rockford rebounded right back with a run of their own off a Mois double down the left field line, scoring
Brooklyn Lee.
The Buccaneers put up another run in the second after two more singles. The Regents once again responded, with Lysaght scoring this time off of a Morris double to left.
Tied 2-2, Allie Gustafson led off the third inning with a solo homer over the right field wall. The bottom of the third was the first time the Regents didn't match the Bucs, staying behind 3-2.
Rockford wouldn't score again, getting shut out over the last five innings. Beloit added two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh and closed out the game with a 5-2 victory.
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