ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern St. Paul Softball team split a doubleheader series with the Saint Mary's University Cardinals on Thursday at Reynolds Field, winning the opener in a 7-0 shutout to earn head coach
Alicia du'Monceaux her program record 227
th win for the Eagles.
Game One
Northwestern jumped out to an early lead in the opener, scoring all seven runs in the first two innings.
Telma Roesler (Hastings, Minn./Crown College) scored first on a fielder's choice to give UNW the 1-0 lead.
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) followed with a single to drive in
Courtney Schmidt (Spring Valley, Minn/Kingsland), and
Hannah Woodworth (Panora, Iowa/Panorama) kept up the momentum with a double to left to score
Lindsey Dvorak (Richmond, Minn./ROCORI). Two batters later,
Kendra Hardy (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria Area) gave UNW a 5-0 lead with an RBI single to score Carlson.
The Eagles scored two more in the second as Carlson launched a single that scored both
Ellie Ronning (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria Area) and Roesler to put UNW up 7-0.
Carlson's big day at the plate was matched by her performance in the pitcher's circle. The junior pitched the seven-inning shutout, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out four.
After the game, the Eagles celebrated Coach du'Monceaux's program record breaking 227
th win before quickly refocusing to prepare for game two.
Game Two
The Eagles battled in game two, but the Cardinals offense woke up to power SMU to a 10-7 win.
Saint Mary's scored out of the gate with an RBI single in the top of the first. Northwestern answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame on a Carlson RBI single, evening the score 1-1.
UNW drove in a pair in the second, as Roesler hit an RBI single and Carlson drew a bases-loaded walk.
Down 3-1 and facing a series sweep, the Cardinals fought back and scored the next nine runs to go up 10-1 after the top of the sixth inning.
Northwestern wasn't about to go down without a fight, and rallied to score four more in the final two innings. A three run sixth saw Carlson drive in another run, Woodworth hit an RBI double, and
Hailey Hansen (Elbow Lake, Minn./West Central Area) drove in another with an RBI single. Ronning added another run with a triple in the seventh, but the Cardinals closed out the inning to take game two.
Up Next
Next up for Northwestern is a home doubleheader with the University of Wisconsin River Falls on Saturday, March 13, starting at 1pm.