ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Parkside softball team opened the 2026 season Wednesday evening with a tightly contested 5–4 loss to Lewis University inside The Dome at Rosemont. The Rangers then dropped the second game of the night 9-1 to Missouri S&T.
GAME ONE VS. LEWIS
The Rangers showed early offensive rhythm, scoring in the top of the first inning. Mia Johnson drew a leadoff walk and later came home when CICI Di Silvio drove a double into the left-center gap to give Parkside a 1–0 advantage.
Lewis responded immediately in the bottom half, capitalizing on a Parkside error before Anna Frafjord delivered the biggest swing of the night—a two-run home run to left field—to put the Flyers in front 3–1 after one inning.
Parkside answered back in the second with a strong two-out rally. Maddie Hernandez opened the frame with a ground-rule double, and Kendall Woods followed with another double to score her. Johnson then lined a single into shallow left to plate Woods and tie the game at 3–3. The Rangers collected four hits in the inning but were unable to push across an additional run.
Lewis regained the lead in the second on another unearned run and extended it to 5–3 in the third after Frafjord tripled and later scored on an RBI single. Parkside's defense was charged with three errors in the game, and two of the five Lewis runs were unearned.
Despite the defensive miscues, Parkside continued to battle offensively. Di Silvio struck again in the fifth with her second extra-base hit of the evening and eventually scored on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 5–4.
The Rangers threatened multiple times late, recording hits in both the sixth and seventh innings, but Lewis pitcher Chloe Gust worked out of trouble to secure the complete-game victory.
Johnson led Parkside at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Di Silvio went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Taylor Utrata also added two hits as part of an eight-hit effort for the Rangers. Woods and Hernandez each contributed doubles in the balanced offensive performance.
In the circle, Ellie Curtis made the opening-day start, allowing five runs (three earned) over three innings while working around early pressure. Holly Lowenberg provided three strong innings of relief, surrendering just two hits and striking out three to keep Parkside within striking distance.
GAME TWO VS. MISSOURI S&T
After surrendering a run in the bottom of the first, the Rangers answered in the second inning to briefly tie the game. Reese Valha sparked the rally with a ground-rule double to center, and Casey Jo Vermett followed with an RBI single to left-center to bring Parkside even at 1–1. The Rangers loaded the bases later in the frame but were unable to push across another run.
Missouri S&T regained the lead in the second on an RBI groundout and then broke the game open in the fourth inning. The Miners capitalized on walks and timely hits, stringing together six hits and drawing multiple free passes in a seven-run inning to extend the advantage to 9–1.
Parkside collected five hits in the contest, including doubles from Megan Medlin, Valha, and CICI Di Silvio. Vermett finished 1-for-2 with the club's lone RBI, while Gracin Foytik added a single as the Rangers looked to generate offense against Missouri S&T starter Mia Miller, who worked all five innings to earn the win.
In the circle, Vermett made the start for Parkside, striking out five over 3.2 innings. Melanie Andrysiak entered in relief during the fourth inning and helped the Rangers navigate the remainder of the frame.
The Rangers will be back in action Thursday in Rosemont beginning at 3:30 p.m. against Upper Iowa University. Links to the live stream can be found at ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
