Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ST. PAUL – In a cold but snowless home opener on the new Reynolds Field, the University of Northwestern fell 0-2 to St. Catherine University in the double header Friday night.

Game 1: SCU 18, UNW 0

Kaylee Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley Watkins) walked right away in the bottom of the first.With one out in the top of the second, St. Catherine loaded the bases and scored their first run of the game. Robyn Rohr walked, with three runners on base with two outs on the board. Claire Woebke nailed a deep left field rocket, earning three RBIS for the Wildcats. At the end of the second inning, St. Catherine led 4-0 over the Eagles.

With a deep center field hit, the Wildcats scored their sixth run. Northwestern made a huge catch in left field, putting the first out on the board in the top of the third. However on the next play, St. Catherine had two RBIs, bringing to score to 7-0. With a Silbernick strikeout, the Eagles moved into the top of the third.
Colleen nailed a double to start off the inning, giving the Eagles a boost of momentum.  With three consecutive strikeouts, the Purple and Gold left Feldheim on base as the third inning came to a close. Feldheim made an incredible backhanded snag as two outs were on the board. Ankrom made the third out catch, holding the Wildcats from scoring in the fourth. SCU's Krista Flugstad continued to put pressure on Northwestern's offense throwing three strikeouts. Ann Lokke (St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis) entered the game in the top of the fifth and retired the side, quickly ending the inning.

St. Catherine wasn't finished adding to the scoreboard, getting three on base right away with zero outs in the top of the sixth. Scoring five runs before adding a grand slam to the mix from Megan Lindenfelser, SCU was up 16-0 with only one out in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and two on base, the Eagles finally ended the nine run inning. The Eagles left three on base but weren't able to capitalize in the sixth, as St. Catherine took the first win of the night.
 

Game 2: SCU 8, UNW 3

The Wildcats brought in their two runs in the top of the second. With two outs, a Feldheim catch brought St. Catherine to a halt, moving into the bottom of the second. Northwestern struggled to make a hit, with a quick end to the inning. With a player on third and two outs, a SCU deep left field hit, drove another Wildcat run in, bringing the score to 3-0 as Megan Threlkeld (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville) caught the third out for the home team. Finishing off the third, Guetter singled to third off a bunt, followed by another single from Threlkeld. Ankrom stepped up to the plate and fired a homerun deep into left field, adding three Purple and Gold points to the game. With two consecutive outs, the home team ended the inning tying at threes. With zero outs on the board, Lindenfelser racked her second homerun of the day and first of the second game. With a ground out, Northwestern held St. Catherine to one run.  At the front half of the fifth, SCU responded with a double to center field, scoring another runner in. The Wildcats scored two additional runs off of single hits, as the Eagle defense couldn't keep up with their power hitting.

Ellen Larkin (Excelsior, Minn./Southwest Christian) earned a single with a grounder to third. Ashley Krantz (Andover, Minn./Andover) came into the lineup, with a sacrifice bunt as Larkin advanced to second with one out in the bottom half of the sixth. Forcier and Feldheim started the last inning with two outfield catches, Silbernick secured the third out with a throw to first.
Northwestern couldn't find a way to combat their five run deficit in the seventh inning, as they fell to St. Catherine 8-3.