BELOIT, Wis. — The Knox softball team had its chances to secure its first victory of the 2025 season in both games at Beloit on Sunday afternoon, but the host Buccaneers thwarted every opportunity and came away with two Midwest Conference victories over the Prairie Fire, 14-6 and 4-1. Beloit (5-25, 3-5 MWC) has now won three straight games, while Knox dropped to 0-27 overall and 0-8 in the MWC.
The Prairie Fire jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning of the opener with junior Kylie Thomson providing an RBI single and senior Maddie Poetzinger a two-run triple. But the Buccaneers responded by doubling that total in the bottom half, sending a dozen batter to the plate with the outburst made up of six hits, two walks and an error.
Beloit tacked on five more runs in the fourth, but Knox briefly staved off an early ending when two runs scored on a single off the bat of senior Morgan Bean in the top of the fifth. The reprieve did not last long, however, as Jocelyn Jordan hit a one-out homer in the bottom half to end the game on the run-rule.
Sophomore starter Charlie Davison (0-11) took the loss after getting knocked from the circle in the third. Thomson and fifth-year Alycea Burnett each had two of the Prairie Fire's nine hits.
In the second game, the Buccaneers took a quick 1-0 lead in the first thanks to an error, but Knox knotted the score in the third on first-year Brenlie Bartlett's first collegiate hit with the bases loaded. A double play, however, snuffed out the rally, leaving the score tied at one.
Again Beloit clapped back, this time with three runs in its half of the third with the key blow being a two-run triple by Allie Gustafson.
Both pitchers settled in from there, putting zeroes on the board the rest of the way. Avary Briggs (4-7), who picked up the win in the first game with two innings of relief, went the distance in this one as she wriggled her way out of jams from giving up six hits and six walks.
Sophomore Janet Lentini (0-4) provided a quality start with six innings of four runs, three earned, on seven hits and three walks while fanning one. She also rapped out two of the six Prairie Fire hits at the plate.
A doubleheader against Principia College on Monday was canceled, leaving Knox without a game this week. The Prairie Fire will next host Grinnell College (7-21, 4-2 MWC) in a doubleheader on Monday, April 21 beginning at 3 p.m. The games will be streamed live through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website for Knox Athletics.
