ROCHESTER, Minn. – The University of Northwestern softball team moved to 3-1 on the young season with a split Saturday inside the Rochester Dome. The Eagles lost a tight, 4-3, decision with Buena Vista in Saturday's first game before topping Dubuque 8-3 in the nightcap to earn the split.
BVU 4, UNW 3
After UNW used an
Ellie Ronning (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria Area ) ground-rule run-scoring double in the top of the seventh to knot the score at 3-3, the Beavers pushed a run across in the bottom of the frame to pick up the walk-off win.
Freshman
Ellie Ronning (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria Area ) continued on her terror at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
Abbie Nelson (Holdrege, Neb./Holdrege) was tagged with the loss in the circle, as the sophomore went the distance, allowing three earned runs on seven hits.
UNW 8, DU 3
Northwestern rebounded with a win in Saturday's finale, scoring a combined five runs in the first three innings before taking an 8-3 victory back to campus.
Pinch-hitter
Moriah Maunu (Glencoe, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake) drilled a two-run ground-rule double in the bottom of the sixth to break the game open.
Leadoff hitter
Kayla Madison (North Branch, Minn./Forest Lake ) went a perfect 3-for-3 to jumpstart the offense. The freshman also scored a run and drove in a pair of runs.
Ellie Ronning (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria Area ),
Courtney Schmidt (Spring Valley, Minn/Kingsland),
Faith Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Vallley-Watkins) and
Mindy Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) all tallied two hits apiece at the dish.
In her second collegiate start,
Lexi Kopacek (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) had another impressive outing, hurling all seven innings. She allowed three runs on seven hits.
The Eagles will take their 3-1 record to the Sunshine State for their annual Spring Break trip next week. Fans can find more information and a complete schedule at unweagles.com and by following @unwsb of Twitter.
