KENOSHA, WIS.—The Carthage College softball team traveled to Decatur, Ill. to take on Millikin University in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Reds are 3-0 on the week in the front-end of doubleheaders, but came up short in game two on all three occasions.  Carthage looked to break that trend against the Big Blue, who own a 1-5 record in their last six games prior to Saturday's meeting against the Lady Reds. The Big Blue's lone victory in that span came in a 1-0 decision against #8 Illinois Wesleyan University on April 13.
 
Carthage edged Millikin 5-4 in game one behind Katie Herron's 15 strikeouts. The Lady Reds held the lead for most of game two before a three-run Big Blue sixth inning gave them a 4-3 lead heading into the seventh inning. Down a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, Hailey Rothstein generated a bases-loaded walk to tie the game 4-4 before Darian Pelsor's grand slam propelled the Lady Reds to an 8-4 win.
 
Carthage improves to 11-11, 3-3 CCIW while Millikin falls to 12-14, 1-4 CCIW.
 
Lady Reds 5, Millikin 4
 
The Big Blue loaded the bases with no outs to begin the first inning, but only mustered one run out of it. That run occurred when Alyssa Visvardia touched home plate off a Carthage throwing error to give Millikin a 1-0 lead.
 
Herron had another remarkable game for the Lady Reds. She struck out the side in the first two innings en route to a total of 15 in game one. Her 15 strikeouts in the game was two shy of tying Krystine Leazer's single-season record of 17, which was accomplished against Millikin on April 27, 2013.
 
The Lady Reds found their hitting stroke in the fourth inning. Darian Pelsor and Abby Thompson did the honors with a walk and single respectively. Makenzie Walker followed that with a two-run double that scored Pelsor and Thompson to give the Lady Reds a 2-1 lead.
 
Vivian Juarez and Sam McCloud each registered an RBI-single to give the Lady Reds a 4-1 lead after the fourth inning. Walker and Juarez scored the runs on the play. The Big Blue got within a run of the Lady Reds in the fifth inning when Iverson notched a two-run double that scored Visvardia and Brooke Heimerl to narrow the margin to 4-3.
 
Amanda Grove pinch ran for Rothstein, who singled, in the seventh inning and scored on a wild pitch from third base to push the Lady Red lead to 5-3. Visvardis tallied a home run to narrow the Lady Red lead to 5-4, but that's all the Big Blue had left in the tank.
 
Herdegen and Abby Thompson each collected two hits for the Lady Reds. Herron scattered eight hits, four runs and struck out 15 in a complete game win.
 
Lady Reds 8, Millikin 4
 
Herdegen set the tone for the Lady Reds with a first-inning home run to make the score 1-0. Thompson tallied a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning that also scored Pelsor to push the Lady Red lead to 3-0.
 
Herron's five strikeouts in the opening four innings kept Millikin off the scoreboard until Miller's home run in the fifth inning narrowed the Lady Red's lead to 3-1. Alysssa Voegele gave Millikin a 4-3 lead off a three-run home run in the sixth inning.
 
The was enough to fuel Carthage in the bottom of the seventh inning when Juarez led off with a single. Alessia Knowski reached base on an error, and Rothstein walked to load the bases. Rothstein walked home Juarez to tie the game 4-4.
 
With one out and the bases loaded, Pelsor hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Lady Reds an 8-4 victory.
 
Herdegen finished the day three-for-three at the plate with a home run. Pelsor went two-for-four with a grand slam. Herron went the distance on the pitching rubber in game two. She tallied nine strikeouts and scattered five hits in the complete-game win.
 
The Lady Reds will return to action tomorrow, April 16 at North Park University. The doubleheader is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m.