Game Six – Carroll 6, St. Norbert 2 l [Box Score]

Carroll staved off elimination and forced a deciding second championship game with a 6-2 victory over St. Norbert on a rain soaked field at Lake Forest, Ill.

The Pioneers scored all six runs between the third and fifth innings and never trailed en route to victory. The scoring started with three in the third inning where Carroll belted four hits and took advantage of a St. Norbert error. Nicole Leden and Jamie Siewert both singled with one out and scored on consecutive hits from Ashlee Leidall and Rebecca Menelle.

St. Norbert answered back in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs on a Morgan Buboltz single to score Samantha Gross and JoAnna Ruppa who both singled in the inning.

The Green Knights momentum was short lived as Carroll scored a single run in the fourth and two more in the fifth inning. Hannah Sanidas single home a run and Kelsey Uhlenbrauck grounded out to plate another run to round out the scoring in the fifth inning and in the game.

Strutz, Leidall and Sanidas combined to go 6-fo-12 at the top of the lineup for the Pioneers and accounted for three runs scored and four RBI. Uhlenbrauck also picked up a hit and a RBI as seven starters registered at least one hit.

Taylor Steinhilber went in the distance striking out seven and walking only one. She endured ten groundouts and scattered eight hits in her 11th win of the season.

Ruppa was the only Green Knights player to collect more than one hit as she had a pair of singles in the loss. Shannen Schmidt took the loss giving up six runs (five earned) in four innings.

Carroll and St. Norbert will meet for the MWC Championship which also will earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.