ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern softball team welcomed North Central to Reynolds Field for a pair of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference contests. The Eagles cruised to their seventh and eighth straight wins – downing the Rams in two, five-inning run rules games. Northwestern improves to 22-14 this season and 11-5 in league play to sit in fourth place in the standings.
 
Game 1: Northwestern 10, North Central 2
The Rams were first to score, homering to center to score two in the top of the first inning. The Eagles battled back, tying it up in the bottom of the second after scoring two unearned runs.
 
The Eagles officially took the lead in the top of the third before adding two major innings of production to score their 10th run by the bottom of the fifth. With an eight run lead, the game came to an early end.
 
The offense was propelled by four Eagles who recorded two hits apiece including Mindy Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins), Kayla Madison (North Branch, Minn./Forest Lake), Megan Aasness (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Academy) and Faith Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Vallley-Watkins). 
 
Abbie Nelson (Holdrege, Neb./Holdrege) threw five complete innings, earning the win in the circle. Nelson allowed just five hits and struck out six.
 
Game 2: Northwestern 8, North Central 0
The Eagles wasted no time getting their offense moving in game two, scoring three off the bat in the first inning. Kayla Madison (North Branch, Minn./Forest Lake) singled up the middle to drive in Mindy Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) and Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) followed up with an RBI (that eventually scored two) due to a throwing error.
 
Northwestern put together another three-run inning in the third, jump started by an RBI from Megan Aasness (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Academy). Ciara Scheithauer (Rib Lake, Wis./Rib Lake) came through with a huge double to center field to score two more.
 
The Eagles took a 7-0 lead after the fourth inning and loaded the bases up in the fifth. It was Faith Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Vallley-Watkins) with an RBI single through the right side that put an early end to game two, giving the Eagles an 8-0 edge.
 
Freshman Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) got the nod, throwing five complete and allowing just one hit in the shutout. She secured her fourth win this season.
 
Shortstop Kayla Madison (North Branch, Minn./Forest Lake) had another dominant performance at the plate. The sophomore went 5-for-7 with three RBIs on the day. Madison ranks second overall in the UMAC in batting average this season, hitting .430 on the year. She leads the league in on base percentage (.515).
 
Northwestern will return to action on Monday, April 29 when they welcome UW-Stout to Reynolds Field. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 5 p.m.