Both Furgerson and Closson Record Two-Hit Shutouts Against Grinnell
Foresters sweep Midwest Conference opening doubleheader 
  

Leigh Anne Furgerson retired the first 17 batters she faced.

Senior pitcher Leigh Anne Furgerson (Carmel, IN/Westfield) retired the first 17 Grinnell hitters she faced in game one before a two-out double in the sixth broke up her bid for a perfect game. The shutout and victory were also in jeopardy when the next hitter singled to center field but junior Hannah Starck (Aurora, IL/Aurora West) threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate to end the inning. Furgerson finished with a two-hitter and her ninth career complete game shutout. Her seven strikeouts in the game were just one short of matching her career high.

Lake Forest had seven base hits in the first seven innings, including two each from freshman Jenny Riddle (Bloomington, IL/Normal) and Mackenzie Knowling (Lafayette, IN/McCutcheon), but was unable to score until the bottom of the eighth. Junior catcher Justeen Streich (Arlington Heights, IL/Hersey) led off the inning with a single to left field. Three batters later, sophomore Ashley Closson's (Murphysboro, IL/Murphysboro) single through the right side of the infield skipped under the outfielder's glove and allowed Streich to score all the way from first base.

Closson was also a hero in game two, both at the plate and in the pitcher's circle. Like Furgerson in the opener, Closson surrendered just two base hits and struck out seven. She held Grinnell hitless until two outs in the fifth inning and no Pioneer reached third base in the game. Closson also had a double and a pair of singles in four at-bats and drove in two.

Knowling was 2-for-3 with a stolen base for the second time on the day. Sophomore shortstop Melissa Wegner (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) also had a couple of base hits in game two and added a run scored and another driven in. The Foresters plated two runs in the first inning, one in the second, and two more in the third. They tallied 11 base hits in the game.

Lake Forest will be at home again on Tuesday (April 6) for a non-conference doubleheader against Benedictine University. The first pitch will be thrown at 3:00 p.m.

Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2