The Lake Forest softball team celebrated its five seniors in style on Senior Day at Mohr Field with a doubleheader sweep of Beloit College on Saturday.
 
The Foresters (20-13-1, 10-2 MWC) rolled to an 8-0 win in five innings in game one, and Lake Forest followed up that result with a 12-1 victory in five innings in game two.
 
With the pair of wins Saturday, the Foresters moved into a tie with Illinois College at the top of the Midwest Conference standings, with both teams holding a 10-2 record in conference play.
 
Game 1: Lake Forest 8, Beloit 0 (5 innings)
Senior pitcher Hannah Smith was a buzzsaw in the circle for Lake Forest, as she kept Beloit in check all game in the 8-0 win in five innings.
 
Smith (5-5) earned the win and pitched the complete game. The senior pounded the strike zone and pitched with a rhythm and tempo that the Buccaneers could not disrupt. Smith pitched five shutout innings, allowing just two hits and three walks while striking out eight.
 
The Riverside, Ill., native did not allow a hit until the fifth inning, and Smith struck out eight batters for the third time in a start this season, although Saturday's effort was the fewest number of innings needed for Smith to reach eight punchouts.
 
The Foresters started hot with three runs in the first inning and would score in every at-bat. Lia Taglia scored on a Beloit error in the fifth inning to end the game and reach the run-rule threshold.
 
Senior Kaylee Purgatorio hit her second home run in the last three games – her fifth on the season. Senior Cheyenne Pellettiere went 1-for-2 with an RBI – her single up the middle in the third inning marked her 100^th career hit for the Foresters.
 
The Foresters also achieved a team milestone, breaking the school record for stolen bases in a season with eight stolen bases as a team in game one. Lake Forest broke the record that the 2024 team set with 117 stolen bases for the season.
 
Game 2: Lake Forest 12, Beloit 1 (5 innings)
The Foresters used a massive second inning to jump out to a huge early lead, then leaned on senior Brooke Challe to shut down the Buccaneers in the 12-1 win in five innings.
 
After taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, the Foresters piled on eight more runs in the second inning to break the game open. Lake Forest batted around in the inning, and sophomore Paige Ratliff bookended the rally by leading off the inning with a double to the gap in left-center field, then provided an RBI single through the left side to score Pellettiere and keep the line moving.
 
Ratliff was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored for the game. Purgatorio and Kaia Mismash each added a pair of hits, while Cadence Dempsey and Kelly Collins were constantly on base for Lake Forest, with both players drawing a pair of walks.
 
Freshman Bella Antonucci contributed off the bench with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to put the exclamation point on the victory for the Foresters.
 
Challe (5-1) tied Smith for second on the team with five wins and put in a solid performance in the circle for Lake Forest. The senior from Lake Geneva, Wis., pitched all five innings, allowing just one run on three hits, and she worked around five walks in the win.  
 
Lake Forest will head north on Sunday for a road doubleheader against conference foe Lawrence University. Game one of the doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m.