ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Parkside softball team started their busy week on Tuesday in GLIAC action against Roosevelt. The Rangers and Lakers would split the day, with the Rangers taking game one 4-3, and the Lakers taking game two 3-2.
Game One
The Rangers wasted no time getting on the board.
Mia Johnson led off the game with a double to center, and
Haley Remington followed with a perfectly placed bunt that turned into a double and an RBI as Johnson raced home. Though Parkside had a runner thrown out at home later in the frame, they took a quick 1-0 lead.
Roosevelt answered with two unearned runs in the bottom half, capitalizing on a pair of Parkside miscues to briefly take a 2-1 lead. But the Rangers responded in the third when Remington ripped her second double of the day and later scored on an RBI double to left center by
Ava Swain to tie the game at 2-2.
In the fourth, Parkside broke through again. After singles from
Taylor Utrata and
Reese Valha, the Rangers loaded the bases and took advantage of a passed ball and an RBI single from
Eden Welling to go back on top. Remington added a sacrifice fly to give Parkside a 4-2 lead, one they would not relinquish.
Roosevelt chipped into the lead with a solo homer in the sixth, but the Rangers' defense shut the door, stranding a runner in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Megan Medlin added a key double in the seventh to give Parkside a shot at insurance, but the one-run lead would hold.
Game Two
Parkside had its chances early, loading the bases with no outs in the top of the first after
Mia Johnson was hit by a pitch and both
Haley Remington and
Ava Swain reached. But a 1–2–3 double play helped Roosevelt escape the jam unscathed.
The Rangers stranded two more in the second and two again in the third, despite drawing four walks in the opening three frames. Roosevelt finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth, when a two-run triple down the left field line gave the Lakers a 2–0 lead. An RBI double in the fifth added insurance and made it 3–0.
Parkside didn't go away quietly. In the sixth,
Reese Valha led off with a single, and
Eden Welling followed with a base hit that eventually brought home both runners after a defensive miscue, cutting the deficit to 3–2. Welling's heads-up baserunning gave the Rangers life heading into the final frame.
Unfortunately, the momentum didn't carry over. Roosevelt retired the Rangers in order in the seventh to seal the win.
Up Next
The Rangers now return home to the Case Softball Complex tomorrow, Wednesday April 16
th. Parkside will host Upper Iowa in non-conference action. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 12 p.m. CDT. Coverage can be found at ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
