BELOIT, Wis. – In a historic afternoon at the diamond, the Beloit College Buccaneers achieved a milestone over a decade in the making. After dropping the first game of a doubleheader to Lake Forest College, the Buccaneers (4-32, 2-10 MWC) roared back in the nightcap to secure a 10-7 victory, marking the program's first win over the Foresters (16-12, 8-4 MWC) since the 2013 season.
Game 1: Lake Forest 8, Beloit 1
The afternoon began with a tough 8-1 loss for the Buccaneers. Despite the score, Beloit showed flashes of the offense that would later win them the day. Allie Gustafson (Beloit, Wis.) recorded a double, and Kaylee Witte (Poplar Grove, IL) and Avary Briggs (Albany, Wis.) each notched hits.
Beloit's lone run in the opener came in the second inning when Brinley Richards (Piedmont, OK) reached on an error, allowing Lizzie Paschal (Holbrook, AZ) to cross the plate. Zoey Buchholtz (Lake Mills, WI) put in a solid effort in the circle, striking out three over five innings of work.
Game 2: Beloit 10, Lake Forest 7
While Lake Forest took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Buccaneers responded with a massive offensive explosion in the second. Beloit sent the bats to work, hanging six runs on the board to seize control of the momentum.
The second-inning rally was ignited by Witte, who laced a two-RBI single up the middle to drive in Paloma Reyes (Beloit, Wis.) and Kiley Hansen (Greenville, WI). The pressure didn't stop there; G Calderon (Winthrop Harbor, IL) followed up with an RBI single, and Gustafson cleared the bases with a clutch two-RBI double to right field. By the time the inning ended, Beloit held a commanding 6-1 lead.
Lake Forest attempted a comeback, narrowing the gap to 6-5 by the middle of the third, but the Buccaneers' defense and the pitching of Briggs held firm. Briggs, who earned the win in the circle, tossed five innings and allowed only two earned runs while battling through a potent Forester lineup.
Beloit found their insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Richards came through with a pinch-hit RBI single that, coupled with a Forester error, allowed two runs to score. Calderon then delivered her biggest hit of the day—a two-RBI single to left-center—extending the lead to 10-5.
The Buccaneers will look to carry this momentum into tomorrow when they travel to Ripon for a clash with the Red Hawks. First pitch from Tracy Field is set for 1 pm.
