Sandburg Softball Sweeps Skyhawks to Stay Atop Arrowhead
Aaron Frey
Thursday, April 25, 2019 8:28 PM
Athletics
Galesburg, IL
The Carl Sandburg College softball team kept its spot atop the Arrowhead Conference standings with a sweep of Sauk Valley on Thursday at the Hungate Baseball/Softball Complex.
Tied in the loss column and two games up in the win column on Illinois Valley entering Thursday’s action, the Chargers (27-21, 14-2) are in search of their first conference championship in program history. Sandburg has two remaining Arrowhead doubleheaders — 3 p.m. Tuesday at home against Black Hawk and 3 p.m. May 3 at home against Illinois Valley.
GAME 1
Sandburg 8, Sauk Valley 3
Sauk Valley 101 000 1 — 3 11 2
Sandburg 530 000 x — 8 12 4
W: Rachel Barrington 7 IP, 4 K, 0 BB
Key Moment
The Chargers wasted no time getting the offense going as they jumped to a 5-1 lead in the first and led 8-1 after the second. RBI singles from Emily Bloomer (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington) and Madison Benge (Stronghurst, Ill./West Central) gave Sandburg the lead in the first, and Haley Stevenson (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) came through with a bases-clearing triple to right field for a 5-1 advantage in the opening frame.
Sandburg Standout
Stevenson’s three-run three-bagger proved to be the game-winner, and she finished 2 for 4 in the contest.
Other Top Chargers
- Bloomer 3 for 4, double, two runs, two RBIs
- Lauryn Campbell (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) 3 for 3, walk, run
- Grace Wilmington (Chillicothe, Ill./Illinois Valley Central) 1 for 3, double, walk, run, two RBIs
- Rachel Barrington (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) CG, 11 H, 3 R, 4 K, 0 BB
GAME 2
Sandburg 6, Sauk Valley 1
Sauk Valley 000 001 0 — 1 6 3
Sandburg 200 004 x — 6 4 2
W: Benge 7 IP, 3 K, 1 BB
Key Moments
- Sandburg jumped to an early lead in the first as Katie Droste (Biggsville, Ill./West Central) reached on a two-base error and scored from second on a misplayed grounder. Benge added an RBI single to left later in the inning for a 2-0 lead.
- After the Skyhawks got on the board in the top of the sixth, Sandburg answered with four runs in the bottom half. Wilmington plated Bloomer with a base hit to left, and Stevenson drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-1. Erin Flairty (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) added a two-run double three pitches later to pad Sandburg’s lead.
Sandburg Standout
Benge singled, scored, drove in a run and didn’t allow an earned run while throwing a complete-game victory. The sophomore struck out three, walked one and scattered six hits.
UP NEXT
The Chargers host Rock Valley at noon Friday in a nonconference doubleheader.
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