Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. – In what has proven to be a busy week for the Northwestern College softball team, the squad took on Crown College in a Wednesday morning doubleheader in the Irish Sports Dome. The Eagles posted its second consecutive 2-0 day with10-1 and 18-2 victories.

Game one saw NWC jump on board early, picking up two runs off two hits in the process. The second inning, however, proved to solidify the visiting team's lead as the whole lineup made it to the batter's box throughout the at-bat. A Kelsey Stoltman (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) single up the middle scored the first run, while Briana Rodgers (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) brought in three of her teammates with a double down the left field line. Current Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) and National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) Player of the Week Megan VanHulzen (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center) was the next Eagle to tally a single and would later go on to reach home before Morgan Pfaff (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) would score the last run of the inning off of an Anna Schurch (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) hit. The rally left Northwestern up 9-0, an advantage that would hold for the remainder of the contest.

The next innings were much less eventful for either team, as the Purple and Gold picked up its final score in the top of the fourth thanks to a Molly Johnsen (Floodwood, Minn./Floodwood) run batted in (RBI), while Crown responded in its final at-bat with a run to leave the final margin at 10-1.

Just a day after setting a new program single-season strikeout mark, Johnsen grabbed her 10^th win of the season and added seven more strikeouts to her sophomore total.

The bats kept on rolling for the Eagles in its next matchup with the squad posting at least one run in each of its turns at the plate. In the first, Ali Witthus (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) kicked off the action with a double down the right field line and was sent home by a defensive error, putting her team up 1-0. Another single-run inning doubled NWC's lead in the second, before five hits lead to four scoring opportunities in the third. The highlight of the third was right fielder Erin Kleinjan (Avon, Minn./Holdingford)'s homer to center field with two runners on base, Kleinjan's second of the year.

Fast forward one inning and the momentum kept on going in favor of the Snelling Avenue crew. For the second time on the day, the entire lineup made it through on the way to eight runs of five hits to leave the score at 14-2. The final offensive chance Northwestern had also proved to be successful, as the squad pounded out four more runs to leave the upper hand in favor of the Eagles, 18-2.

In the second matchup of the day, Schurch was the victorious pitcher, while the entire lineup notched at least one hit and run in the five-inning contest.

After four games in two days and eight contests in the past week, Northwestern (16-16 overall, 11-6 UMAC) will have a day off before heading down to New Ulm, Minn. for the UMAC Crossover Tournament hosted by Martin Luther College. The Eagles will face off with a familiar Crown opponent at 2 p.m. before taking on the home team, Martin Luther, two hours later.