CLERMONT, Fla. –
Jordyn Swoboda had a day that most collegiate softball players can only dream of.
The sophomore went 5-for-7 with not one, not two but four home runs to lead the College of Saint Benedict softball team as it split with Trine and Wartburg on its second day of competition in Clermont, Fla.
In Saint Benedict's second game of the day, both teams were scoreless until the third inning when Swoboda hit her third homer of the day – a two-run shot that put the Bennies up 2-0. CSB (3-3) added a third run in the fourth inning when
Mo Burns doubled and later scored on an RBI single from
Lauren York. Wartburg (2-1) got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, but Swoboda's fourth homer of the day – a solo shot – made it 4-0 in the fourth, and Burns singled and scored in the sixth on an RBI double from
Olivia McCabe to put CSB up 5-1.
Wartburg scored once more in the bottom of the sixth, but
Sheridan Glashan sent in a run with an RBI single, and pinch runner
Lizzy Walker came around to score on a Wartburg error. The Knights loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but CSB's defense held strong and the team came away with its first win of the trip.
Swoboda finished 3-for-4 with a trio of RBIs, and
Kendra Swanson and Burns each added two hits. CSB finished with 12 hits to Wartburg's five. First year
Elly Novak threw the first five innings and picked up the second win of her collegiate career. She gave up a single earned run on three hits with six strikeouts.
Grace Gilmore threw the final two innings and gave up one run with three strikeouts.
The first game of the day between the Bennies and eighth-ranked Trine turned into a slugfest. The two teams combined for 16 runs, 16 hits and four home runs over eight innings.
Swoboda's first home run of the day came in the bottom of the second inning, and it scored two runs to put CSB up 2-0. Trine got one run back in the second, but Glashan hit a solo homer and Burns singled and scored on an RBI sac fly from McCabe to make it 4-1 in the bottom of the inning.
After two homers from CSB, the Thunder answered with a grand slam as part of a five-run third inning that gave them a 6-4 lead. Swoboda had an answer of her own as she hit her second home run of the day, and Swanson followed that up with a walk, and came around to score on an RBI single from Glashan. Trine re-gained the lead in the fourth on a CSB error and an RBI single, but the Bennies tied the game one more time in the bottom of the inning when McCabe doubled and scored on an RBI sac fly by Swoboda.
The only two scoreless innings of the game were the fifth through seventh innings, so the game went to extra innings with two teams tied at 7-7. With a runner placed on second due to the international rule, and another runner got on after a walk. CSB got two outs – including a strikeout from
Ally Hjort, but a two-run single to left field put the Thunder up 9-7. Trine got a double play to start the inning, and a CSB fly out ended the game.
Swoboda finished 2-for-4 with four games, and she wrapped up the day 5-for-7 with four home runs and seven RBIs. Glashan added two hits and two RBIs for CSB, which had eight total hits. Gilmore threw the first 2.1 innings and gave up five runs – four earned – on four hits. Hjort took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits with five strikeouts in the final 5.2 innings of work.
Saint Benedict is 1-3 in Florida and returns to action Tuesday, March 3, when it takes on Franklin at 11:15 a.m. CDT and then Muskingum at 3:45 p.m. CDT.
