DULUTH, Minn. (Apr. 22, 2008) – The Northwestern College softball team put itself in prime position to win at least a share of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) title on Tuesday, defeating both the College of St. Scholastica and Northland College in an abbreviated one-day league crossover.  The Eagles defeated St. Scholastica, 4-1 in an eight-inning affair before claiming a 9-8 win over Northland.

After two scoreless innings from both NWC and St. Scholastica, Ashley Weimer (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) took advantage of a leadoff walk followed by a steal, eventually scoring on an error in the Eagles' next at bat.

The Saints responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth frame in almost the same fashion to knot the score at 1-1.  Neither team capitalized on base runners, sending the game's end result in to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth inning, Northwestern exploded for three runs to put the pressure on St. Scholastica.  After Jenny Kortus (Milaca, Minn./Milaca) (Milaca, Minn./Milaca) scored on an error, Jewel Johnston (San Luis Obispo. Calif./San Luis Obispo) (San Luis Obispo, Calif./San Luis Obispo) doubled, bringing in Lauren August (Maple Plain, Minn./West Lutheran) (Maple Plain, Minn./West Lutheran) and Amanda Rodgers (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) (Monticello, Minn./Monticello).

The Saints (9-19, 8-5 UMAC) were unable to return the favor, as pitcher Kelsey Hanson (St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis) (St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis) shut down any chance of offense, much less a come from behind a victory.

Northwestern (18-9, 10-2 UMAC) was only able to record three hits in the game, but made them count when needed. 

Hanson pitched all eight innings, earning the win after yielding St. Scholastica's one run on six hits.

Game statistics from the Eagles game versus Northland (who is currently tied with NWC at 11-2 in the UMAC) were not yet available.

No team's championship hopes are anything near secure as of yet due to the fact that each UMAC school will play four games in a Friday-Saturday crossover tournament this weekend hosted by Northwestern.  The Eagles will face Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran in back-to-back games on Friday at Reynolds Field, beginning at 2 p.m.