Mankato, Minn. –– The University of Northwestern softball team (0-2) opened their season with a twinbill against UW-La Crosse and UW-Stout. La Crosse won the opener 5-2 (F/8) before Stout won game two 6-3. The teams played at the Maverick Sports Dome on the campus of Minnesota State Mankato.

Game One

Northwestern got on the board first in the battle of the Eagles as Telma Roesler (Hastings, Minn./Crown College) brought Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) across the plate with an RBI single in the third inning. Carlson got the start in the circle, and she was dominant early as she retired twelve of the first fourteen La Crosse hitters.

La Crosse took the 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth thanks to four straight hitters reaching base to start the inning. Carlson managed to strand two base runners in the seventh to keep it a one-run game, and Northwestern capitalized by tying it up in the bottom half of the frame. 

Gabrielle Keith (Marble Rock, Iowa/Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock) led off the inning with a single before Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) and Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) both recorded two-out singles. Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Wheaton College), who pinch ran for Keith, scored the tying run on Carlson's single. La Crosse scored three runs in the eighth to win it in extra innings.

Carlson, Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian), and Keith all reached base twice for the Eagles. Six freshmen started for the Eagles as the team combined to have nine hits. Carlson pitched 7.1 innings and gave up four earned runs as she struck out three. Diana Boyce (Phoenix, Ariz./Park City) recorded the final two outs as she stranded two runners to keep it a three-run game.

Game Two

The Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the UW-Stout Blue Devils in the second game of the doubleheader. Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) led off with a single and scored on Sydney Lane's (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) first collegiate RBI. Gabrielle Keith (Marble Rock, Iowa/Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock) was hit by a pitch and then Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. After a ground out and a strikeout, Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Wheaton College) and Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) both recorded RBI singles.

The Eagles once again loaded the bases in the second but were unable to capitalize. Stout scored two runs a piece in the second, third, and fourth innings to take a 6-3 lead. After having nine base runners reach in the first two innings, Northwestern only had four runners reach in the rest of the contest.

Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) got her first collegiate start in the circle, and she pitched the first 2.2 innings while surrendering three runs. Diana Boyce (Phoenix, Ariz./Park City) gave up two runs as she recorded the final out of the third inning. Carlson came in and threw the final three innings while scattering three hits and striking out one.

Up Next

The Eagles will travel to Florida later this week as they resume their annual trip to Clermont, Florida. They will play nine games over the course of their trip with the first two occurring on Friday, March 4th against Adrian College with a second game to follow against Regis College. First pitch against Adrian is scheduled for 10:15 AM (EST) and first pitch against Regis is scheduled for 2:30 PM (EST). The Eagles will have the opportunity to test their fourteen incoming players over the course of the trip and test the depth of their team early on.