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rainy weather over the past two weeks, the Carleton softball team has a jam-packed schedule for their last week of regular MIAC season play. The team will play four doubleheaders in the next five days.

The Knights will take on the College of Saint Benedict Blazers today in St. Cloud then return to Northfield to play St. Olaf College on Friday afternoon. The team will finish up their regular season play on Saturday at St. Mary’s and on the Monday of mid-term break at Bell. 

“It’ll be almost like our crazy spring break schedule, but minus the 80 degrees and sunshine,” said pitcher Kaitlin Bagley ’14.

 After holding a six-game win streak early in the season, the Knights have struggled to come out on top in their recent games. Most recently, the team travelled to St. Paul and was swept by Hamline University last Thursday. The Pipers handed the Knights two decisive losses, 11-2 and 4-0. 

In the first game, the Knights notched an early lead when Katrina Harper ’14 knocked in Jenny Ramey ’14 for a run. The bats were soon silenced, however, and they did not score again until the fifth inning. The Pipers, meanwhile, sent 14 batters to the plate in the third, notching double-digit runs on the board.

The nightcap was a similar story as the Knights seemed unable to capitalize on their hits and left most base runners stranded.

Refusing to let the gray weather dampen their spirits, the Knights remain confident that they will finish their scheduled MIAC games on a high note. 

“We’ve been practicing really hard for the past week,” said Em Levine ’14.  “We just have to keep up our focus and we’ll be looking at a lot of wins in the next week.”

Dana Mackey is a member of the softball team.