MILWAUKEE, WIS.—The Carthage College softball team made the 30-minute trek northbound to Milwaukee School of Engineering for a Saturday-afternoon doubleheader at the MSOE Athletic Field. Lady Reds pitcher Stefanie Guercio notched her fifth complete-game shutout of the young 2019 season in game one, where Naomi Alonzo's two-run home run in the eighth inning propelled Carthage to a 2-0 victory over the Raiders. A four-run fifth inning, and Amanda Manssens' walk-off RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh inning powered MSOE to a 6-5 victory over the Lady Reds in game two.
 
The split sends Carthage's record to 10-4, 0-0 CCIW while MSOE exits Saturday with a 7-5, 0-0 NACC mark.
 
Lady Reds 2, MSOE 0
 
Guercio added 14 strikeouts to her resume in game one, where she allowed just three hits and walked one batter over eight innings of work. The Lady Reds pounded nine hits, led by Makenzie Miller's 3-for-4 game at the dish. It was Naomi Alonzo who propelled the Lady Reds at crunch time with a two-run home run in the eighth inning that also scored Stevens, who doubled, to give Carthage a 2-0 lead.
 
Guercio, who improved her win-loss pitching record to 6-1, proceeded to add a pair of strikeouts to her stat line in the bottom of the eighth to secure the Lady Reds a 2-0 win.
 
MSOE 6, Lady Reds 5
 
Carthage set the tone with a trio of fourth-inning runs, where Alonzo and Miller got things going with back-to-back singles. Alonzo scored on Ellie Bernero's double to give Carthage a 1-0 lead. Bernero and Miller each tacked on a fourth-inning run off Brooke Sefcik's single to widen the score to 3-0.
 
The Raiders took a 5-3 lead with a fourth-inning run, followed by a four-run fifth inning. Alonzo contributed Carthage's final two runs as she scored off Bernero's single to narrow Carthage's deficit to 5-4 in the sixth inning, and drove-in Alexandra Millett (walked) with a seventh-inning double to tie the game 5-5. That was the ignition MSOE needed as Rachel Ziemba scored from second base off Amanda Manssen's walk-off single in the seventh to lift MSOE past Carthage 6-5.
 
Alonzo paced Carthage at the plate with a 3-for-4 day at the dish, while Miller and Bernero each notched a pair of hits. Alonzo and Bernero collectively allowed 10 hits and six runs while striking out three batters on the pitching rubber for Carthage.
 
The Lady Reds will open their home schedule on Wednesday, March 27 against Wisconsin Lutheran College (DH) at 3:00 p.m.