Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW ULM, Minn. – For the second day in a row, the Northwestern College softball team split its two contests at the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Crossover Tournament hosted by Martin Luther College. The squad came out on top of a 10-inning thriller on Saturday morning versus the University of Minnesota before dropping its final contest of the weekend to Bethany Lutheran College.

In the matchup versus Minnesota Morris, the Cougars scored early and held a 1-0 advantage before the first inning had ended. The Eagles would respond in the bottom of the second as Megan VanHulzen (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center) continued her standout freshman season with a homer over left field as the first batter up in the inning.
The bats were quiet for the next sequences as neither team tallied a hit for three innings. The two teams would each record some offensive action in the sixth, but it was not enough to change the 1-1 tie. The seventh, and then the extra eighth and ninth innings would come and go with the score yet again remaining constant as both the Eagles' and Cougars' pitchers worked to tally 18 strikeouts before the 10^th inning began.

UMM made its final run of the extended game in the top of the 10^th as it sent a sacrifice fly to center field which provided the time the visiting team on the scoreboard needed to reach home.
Cue the bottom of the 10^th and Northwestern refused to roll over as Morgan Pfaff (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) pounded a double and reached third on a passed ball. Two outs would be counted, leaving NWC in a tough position as it was down 2-1, but Ali Witthus (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) changed that as she reached on a defensive error and scored Pfaff. Kelsey Stoltman (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) would then take the game a step further with a single to left center, allowing the home team to take its first and final lead of the morning as Witthus crossed home plate. 

Pitcher Molly Johnsen (Floodwood, Minn./Floodwood) recorded 11 K's in the victory, the second straight day the sophomore had reached double-digit strikeouts. Northwestern was actually out-hit 8-6 in the 10 innings of play, but the hits counted as two turned into runs batted in (RBI) in the win.

After a big kick-off to its morning the squad headed out on the field to face off with the same Bethany Lutheran team the Eagles saw on April 20. Unfortunately for the Purple and Gold, the result was different from its morning contest and NWC would be down 3-0 before the end of the first inning.

Northwestern got two hits off Briana Rodgers (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) and #VanHulzen#, but that would prove to be the end of the offensive action as the Vikings pitching and defense put a hold on any further offensive success. BLC held a 7-0 advantage after its final run in the third, a margin that would stand the test of time.

NWC (18-18 overall, 13-8 UMAC) now has a brief rest from competition until Wednesday, May 1 when the team is slated to host Finlandia University in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Reynolds Field.