Lake Forest Sweeps Knox, Clinches South Division's Top Seed in MWC Tournament
Shelby Neill homers for the fourth straight game  
  

Shelby Neill

Tracy Rainey

Mallory Norton

The Foresters started the day by scoring twice in the top of the first inning. Senior Hannah Michal (Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake) led off the game with a double and, two batters later, junior Tracy Rainey (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) belted her fourth home run of the season. The lead did not last, however, as Knox plated three in the bottom of the frame to pull ahead 3-2.

Lake Forest got one run back in the second when Michal singled in junior Jill Pfund (Morenci, Mich./Morenci), who had doubled earlier in the inning.

The visitors regained the advantaged in the third. Junior Mallory Norton (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) singled with one out and scored when classmate Shelby Neill (Manitou Beach, Mich./Lenawee Christian) homered for the fourth game in a row. It was her team-high fifth round-tripper of the season. Pfund then singled, advanced to second on a walk, and scored on a base hit by junior Sam Pinsonneault (Manchester, N.H./New Hampton).

Knox errors put a pair of Foresters on base in the top of the fourth and Neill singled them both in with the final runs of the contest.

Junior pitcher Jeanette Andresen (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) started the game and surrendered a pair of unearned runs in four innings. She raised her record on the season to 7-6. Freshman Cami Daun (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan North) blanked the Prairie Fire on just one base hit over the final three inning to earn her first career save.

Michal, Norton, Neill, and Pfund each had two base hits in the game and Neill drove in four runs.

A six-run outburst in the bottom of the first inning gave the Foresters a comfortable lead early in game two. Singles by sophomore Sarah Brusig (Rifle, Colo./Rifle), Rainey, and Norton follwed a leadoff walk by Michal and plated two runs. Junior Charice Wilczynski (Long Grove, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) doubled in two runs later in the inning, another scored on a wild pitch, and freshman Stephanie Sanocki (Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) drove in the sixth of the on a sacrifice fly.

Rainey singled with two outs in the second, advanced to third on an error, and scored on a base hit by Neill.

Knox scored three times in the top of the third to make the score 7-3 but the Prairie Fire would get no closer.

The Foresters added a run in the bottom of the third on freshman Danielle Gore's (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) second home run of the season and plated one in the fourth on a double by Neill.

After the home team scored one in the top of the fifth, Lake Forest closed out the game with its second six-run innings of the contest. Wilczynski, Pinsonneault, and Brusig singled in the inning and two others reached base on errors. Norton finished it off with a grand slam, her fourth home run of the year.

Lake Forest sophomore pitcher Gretchen Galasek (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest) evened her record on the year at 7-7. The starter got one out in the fifth inning and freshman Leslie Harshey (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) recorded the final two outs.

Two-hit games were recorded by Brusig, Rainey, Norton, Neill, Wilczynski, and Pinsonneault.

For the fourth consecutive season, the Foresters finished first in the MWC South Division standings. The team will take on St. Norbert College, the North Division's #2 seed, to begin next weekend's (May 1-2) MWC Championship Tournament at Ripon College. The Friday morning game will begin at 10:00. Ripon will host either Monmouth College or Grinnell College at noon, the losers will play at 2:00, and the winners will finish day one with a 4:00 p.m. contest. Play will continue in the double-elimination tourney on Saturday with games at 10:00 a.m., noon, and 2:00 p.m., if necessary.