The Vikings stumbled to a conference defeat against Lake Forest College on home turf after a difficult two-fixture run-in on Sunday afternoon. This result sees their record cut to 9-5 at the latter end of the season.
Game one saw Lawrence get shutout by an impervious pitching job from Lake Forest’s Riley Stiles. The travelling team controlled the attacking end of things as well as defense, comfortably establishing a 2-0 lead at the third inning’s conclusion. Seeing things out all the way into the seventh, Lake Forest would then add another two points to their tally through Minash and Dempsey, to put an end to the first leg of the tie.
The second leg proved to be a much more eye-catching affair. Right from the start, five runs were put on the scoreboard within the span of an inning. To Lawrence’s dismay, these were all by the hand of Lake Forest, leaving them with a high mountain to climb. Yet climb they would, putting together a crowd-inspired performance thanks to attacking duo juniors Adrie Villa and Zoe Doherty. Doherty’s inning closer at the end of the fifth propelled Lawrence to a two-point lead over Lake Forest at 7-5.
So close now were the Vikings to overturning the deficit that victory seemed to be the only thing in sight. The away team, however, had other plans and commandeered a dramatic comeback in the dying minutes of the seventh inning, where they came within one point of Lawrence’s score, equalled it and finally overtook it. Nyen’s run at the end of the match set Lake Forest up 8-7, which is how the match would agonisingly end not long after.
The result is a tough one for Lawrence University’s Softball Team to take given its importance in the race for playoff places. But with another home fixture to come and their scoring form on a high, the Vikings are confident they can get over the line in their final two matchups against Mount Mary University and Beloit College. Their next ballgame is on April 30 at the renowned Whiting Field.