Benedictine (Ill.) Box Score
Aurora Box Score

The Carthage College softball team (0-2, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opened its 2010 season on Sunday, March 7 with losses to Benedictine University (Ill.), 6-5, and to Aurora University, 6-2.  Both games were played in Kissimmee, Fla., at the "Rebel Spring Games."

In the Benedictine (Ill.) game, Carthage was enjoying a 2-0 lead behind starting pitcher Kelsey Epping (Sr., Bloomington, Ill./Downs-Tri Valley) when the roof caved in on relief pitcher Krystina Leazer (Fr., Des Plaines, lll./Elk Grove) in the fifth inning. Aimee Mahoney triple in the first two runs and eventually stole home. Benedictine (Ill.) scored its fourth run on a Carthage error. The Lady Reds re-gained the lead, 5-4, with a three-run home run by Alyssa Schrader in the sixth, but the Eagles scored twice in the bottom of the sixth for their winning, 6-5 margin. Kari Peterson (Jr., Blooming Prairie, Minn.) also homered for Carthage. 

In the Aurora contest, the Spartans scored four unearned runs of starting pitcher Alyssa Schrader (0-1) and reliever Krystina Leazer. Aurora took a 4-0 lead in the third and added single runs in both the fifth and sixth. Meghan Roman (Sr., Crestwood, Ill./Chicago-Marist) had three of the Lady Reds' six hits, and Kari Peterson hit her second home run on the day.