CHICAGO, ILL.—The Carthage College softball team entered their Sunday-afternoon CCIW doubleheader at North Park University riding on a cloud. That cloud was the result of Darian Pelsor's walk-off grand slam in the seventh inning to give Carthage an 8-4 victory over Millikin University in game two on Saturday afternoon. That victory snapped an 0-3 mark in the back end of doubleheaders this week.
 
Sunday afternoon capped a week that saw the Lady Reds play 10 games. Carthage jumped to a 5-0 lead in game one, but had to survive a late scare to secure a 5-3 victory over North Park in game one. The Lady Reds failed to capitalize in game two with a 3-2 loss to the Vikings.
 
The Lady Reds sit at 12-12, 4-4 CCIW while North Park owns a 7-24, 4-6 CCIW record.
 
Lady Reds 5, North Park 3
 
Katie Herron started in her third-straight game for the Lady Reds on the pitching rubber. She elapsed the double-digit strikeout plateau with 10, and scattered five hits in game one.
 
Herron's stellar performance came with a late-game scare, but the Lady Reds offered her enough run support. That started in the first inning when Sam McCloud reached on an error, advanced to second base on Alessia Knowski's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Hailey Rothstein's single to give the Lady Reds a 1-0 lead.
 
McCloud and Knowski notched back-to-back singles with one out in the third inning. Rothstein drove in McCloud on a double to widen the Carthage lead to 2-0.

Pelsor gave the Lady Reds a 3-0 lead when she hit a home run over the center field fence in the fourth inning.
 
The Lady Reds added a pair of seventh-inning runs when Abby Thompson reached on an error, and Makenzie Walker doubled to put runners on the corners. Kayla Uhwat-Vicicondi drove in Shannon Walsh, Thompson's pinch runner, on a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-0.
 
Walker came around to score on a Vivian Juarez groundout to widen the Lady Red lead to 5-0.
 
The late-game scare occurred when Jade Acevedo and Nicole Kruckman reached base on a single, and hit by pitch. Simone Carroll knocked in Acevedo and Kruckman on an RBI-double to narrow the Lady Red lead to 5-2. Carroll made the score 5-3 when she scored off Victoria Young's double.
 
McCloud made the final out of the game on a great catch in right field to seal a 5-3 victory for the Lady Reds.
 
Rothstein led the Lady Red sluggers with two hits in the game.
 
North Park 3, Lady Reds 2
 
McCloud set the tone for the Lady Reds with a lead-off single in the first inning. She advanced to second on Walsh's sacrifice bunt, and moved to third on Kristine Herdegen's groundout. McCloud scored from third base on a wild pitch to give the Lady Reds a 1-0 lead.
 
Rothstein followed that with a solo-home run to widen the Carthage lead to 2-0.
 
The Vikings responded with a pair of third-inning runs when Amara Leith and Ashley Campos notched back-to-back singles, and scored on Kendall Podschweit's single to tie the game 2-2.
 
The seventh inning haunted the Lady Reds this time around. Carroll led off the seventh inning with a single up the middle before she advanced to second base on Young's sacrifice bunt. After Carroll moved to third base on a wild pitch, she scored on a Campos single to right field to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead.
 
The Lady Reds failed to generate a comeback in the seventh inning, which sealed a 3-2 loss to North Park University in game two.
 
Five different Lady Reds notched a hit in the game. Pelsor scattered seven hits and three runs in the complete-game effort on the pitching rubber for Carthage.
 
The Lady Reds will return to the Carthage Softball Field on Tuesday, April 19 against North Central College. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.