Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 The Carthage College softball team (4-0, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opened its 2012 season by going 4-0 at the Finlandia University “Superior Dome Tournament” at the Northern Michigan University Superior Dome in Marquette, Mich.  

Carthage opened tournament play on Friday, Feb. 24 by defeating Hope College (0-1), 7-5, before winning over Edgewood College (1-1) by an 8-2 margin.  On Saturday, Feb. 25, the Lady Reds defeated Simpson College (0-1), 4-1, and Wisconsin-Oshkosh (1-1), 4-2.
 
In the win over Hope, Carthage scored four times in the seventh inning to overcome a 3-0 Hope lead.  Alyssa Schrader homered.  Alyse Mikolas singled in two runs, and Jen Precht singled home the fourth run.  After the Flying Dutch tied the game, 4-4, in the bottom of the inning, the Lady Reds scored three times in the eighth to take a 7-4 lead.  Randi Rederer singled home the first run in the eighth, and Vicki Pyan drove home the next two.  Hope scored once in the bottom of the eighth for the final, 7-5 margin.  Krystina Leazer (1-0) was the winning pitcher.  Leazer allowed all five runs, four earned, on eight hits and two walks, while striking out seven.  Kasey Wierzbicki (0-1) took the loss for Hope.  Carthage's Vicki Pyan went two-for-four with an RBI.
 
In the Edgewood game, the Lady Reds scored three times in the first inning on an RBI-triple by Abby Hanson and a two-run homer by Vicki Pyan.  Carthage added a run in the fourth and another in the sixth to make it a 5-0 game.  After the Eagles scored twice in the sixth, the Lady Reds tacked on three runs in the seventh to close out the scoring.  Pyan connected on a another two-run homer, and Jen Precht followed with a solo shot.  Alyssa Schrader (1-0) was the winning pitcher in the nightcap, with Brittany Andrews (0-1) taking the loss.  Pyan went three-for-three with three runs scored and four RBI, while Precht had two hits in four trips with three runs driven in.
 
Carthage broke a scoreless tie with a two-run fourth inning against Simpson.  Vicki Pyan doubled in a run and scored on an outfield error.  After the Storm cut the lead to 2-1 in the fifth inning, the Lady Reds scored two unearned runs in the seventh for the final, 4-1 margin.  Krystina Leazer (2-0) was the winning pitcher and allowed one run on four hits, while walking one and striking out seven batters.  The loss went to Kacee Arey (0-1).  Carthage's Katie Morman went two-for-three with an RBI, and Pyan drove in two runs.
 
Carthage took a 1-0 lead over Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the first inning of the final game on an RBI-single by Alyssa Schrader.  Wisconsin-Oshkosh made it a 2-1 game in the second inning on back-to-back home runs by Katie Koepsel and Julie Sweeney.  The Lady Reds tied the game, 2-2, in the fifth on an RBI-single by Katie Morman.  Carthage broke the tie in the sixth inning when Amy Slattery clubbed a two-run homer off Titan relief pitcher Courtney Wautier.  The win went to Krystina Leazer (3-0) in relief of Alyssa Sirocchi.  Sirocchi went the first three innings and allowed two runs on four hits.  Leazer worked the final four frames and blanked UW-Oshkosh on two hits and eight strikeouts.  Julie Sweeney (0-1), the Titan starter, was the losing pitcher.  Katie Morman went three-for-four with an RBI for the Lady Reds.

With the four wins, Carthage was ranked 25th in the Feb. 29 National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll.  The Lady Reds travel next to Tucson, Ariz., for a 10-game spring trip at the Tucson Invitational.  Carthage opens the trip on Sunday, March 18 against Augsburg College at 9 a.m. (all times MST) and Gustavus Adolphus College at 1:30 p.m.