KENOSHA, Wis. – The Carthage College softball team returned to their home field Thursday for a doubleheader against Carroll University.  Carthage opened taking the game one, 2-0, before falling in the second game, 8-6.
 
The split sends the Lady Reds to 9-11 on the season, while the Pioneers improved to 14-8.
 
Game one featured a pitching gem by Darian Pelsor who threw a complete game four-hit shutout to earn her third win of the season.  Pelsor, now 3-4 on the season, logged seven innings, striking out four and walking just one.
 
All the offense that Pelsor would need and the Lady Reds could manage came in the third inning when Kristine Herdegen hit a mammoth two-out two-run homerun, scoring Sam McCloud, and giving Carthage the 2-0 advantage.
 
Herdegen finished with half of the Lady Reds' hits, going 2-for-3 in the game with the two RBI's. 
 
Game two was a back and forth affair that saw Carthage open the scoring when starting pitcher Makenzie Walker drove in Pelsor in the second inning to help her own cause and give the Lady Reds an early 1-0 lead. 
 
However, Carroll quickly responded with three runs in the third off Walker to take their first lead of the day at 3-1. 
 
An inning later, a two out error by the Pioneers off the bat of pinch hitter Lauren Jones that scored Hailey Rothstein paved the way for the Lady Reds to regain the lead.  Next, pinch hitter Alessia Knowski sinlged up the middle to score Kayla Uhwat-Vicicondi, tying the game at three.  Still working on the extra out that was given to them on the error, leadoff hitter Sam McCloud stepped up and crushed a three-run homerun to left center to give Carthage a 6-3 lead after four.
 
However it wasn't meant to be as three errors by the Lady Reds led to four runs in the sixth inning for Carroll.  And after adding an insurance run in the seventh, the Lady Reds were sent to an 8-6 defeat to conclude the day.
 
Carthage will now begin one of the toughest stretches of their season starting Saturday at Millikin, University that begins a stretch of five doubleheaders over a span of six days.   Along with Millikin, Carthage will also face College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foes North Park and North Central during the stretch of games.