Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 West St. Paul, Minn. — The University of Northwestern came home with two wins from day one of the UMAC Softball Crossover Indoor Event. Beating Crown College in the first game and Bethany Lutheran in the second, the Eagles remain undefeated in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
GAME 1: UNW: 5, CROWN 3
Threlkeld started UNW's first at-bat with a leadoff double, scoring on next batter
Kaylee Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley Watkins), whose sac bunt put her on base thanks to an error by the pitcher. Another Crown defensive error allowed Forcier to score from second with two more UNW runs on another error. In the first inning, the Eagles earned five runs on one hit and four errors giving Northwestern a 5-0 lead over the Storm. All of Crown's errors were a result of Northwestern bunts. UNW sent 10 batters into the box that inning.
Lauren Silbernick (Osakis, Minn./Osakis) got out of a jam in the top of the second, allowing runners on second and third. However, she struck out their final batter, keeping Crown to zero hits. After four complete innings, UNW being out-hitting CC 5-2, leading 5-0 on the scoreboard.
Crown got on the board in the top of the sixth thanks to three hits and a UNW defensive error. Silbernick struck out the batter for third out with a runner on third, halting the Storm's small offensive push. UNW led 5-2 after five and a half innings of play. Crown threatened UNW's lead in the seventh inning but were unable to pull ahead.
Game 2: UNW: 1, BLC: 0
The first two innings, both teams remained scoreless. In the top of the third, Larkin walked on the second at-bat for the Eagles. Guetter was up next and bunted, advancing Larkin to second. Threlkeld nailed a double down the left field line, bringing Larkin in for the Northwestern run. With two consecutive Purple and Gold strike outs, BLC ended the inning. With only two hits for the remainder of the game, Northwestern couldn't score another run, but still secured the win.
Bethany's Pipenhagen struck out 18 Northwestern batters; however, the tough defensive front one the game for the Eagles.
