Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Carthage College softball team (14-10, 5-5 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) split another conference doubleheader on Thursday, April 17, this time with Elmhurst College (10-10, 2-6 CCIW) at the Carthage Softball Field in Kenosha, Wis.  The Lady Reds won the first game, 2-1, but the Bluejays came from behind to take the nightcap, 4-2.  Carthage has split three of its five CCIW twinbills so far this season.
 
Carthage remains in fourth place in the CCIW, trailing North Central (Ill., 8-2), Illinois Wesleyan University (6-2) and Augustana College (Ill., 6-2).  North Park University, with a 2-2 league mark, trails the Lady Reds in fifth place.
 
Elmhurst took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the opener on an RBI-double by Clare Bukowski.  Carthage tied the game in the third when Alyse Mikolas singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, went to third on an illegal pitch Katie Boals and scored on another illegal pitch.  The Lady Reds took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a two-out RBI-single to third by Bryanna Heckel.
 
Pitcher Makenzie Walker (Fr., Kenosha, Wis./Bradford, 6-3), who entered the game in the third inning in relief of Darian Pelsor, was the winning pitcher.  Walker blanked the Bluejays on five hits and a walk over the final five innings.  Katie Boals (4-5) took the loss.  Alyse Mikolas (Sr., Kenosha, Wis./Bradford) led the Lady Reds by going two-for-two.
 
In the nightcap, the Lady Reds took a 1-0 lead in the third when Bryanna Heckel doubled, went to third on a bunt and scored on a Vicki Pyan sacrifice fly.  Pyan drove in a second run with a two-out single in the fifth, and Carthage led, 2-0.  The Bluejays tied the game, 2-2, in the fifth on a two-run single by Tiffany Potthast.  Elmhurst scored its go-ahead runs in the sixth.  With two outs and runners at first and second both on the move, Potthast hit a blooper to short, left-center field that fell in just beyond the reach of shortstop Katie Morman.  Both runners scored, and the Bluejays, led, 4-2.
 
Potthast went two-for-four and drove in all four Elmhurst runs.  Olivia Scott went two-for-three for Carthage, and Vicki Pyan drove in two runs.  Potthast (6-3) was the winning pitcher and limited Carthage to two runs, one earned, on six hits and no walks over seven innings. Katie Herron (4-3) took the loss, as she gave up four runs, three earned, on nine hits and a walk over six frames.
 
Carthage plays host to non-conference opponent Ripon College (8-23) on Tuesday, April 22 in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at the Carthage Softball Field in Kenosha, Wis.