ST. PAUL, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Softball team hosted Bethany Lutheran on Tuesday night in a matchup between two of the top teams in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. The two teams each picked up a win as they split the doubleheader.
Game One
The Eagles had not played a game in over a week, but their offense needed little time to get back into the swing of things. The scoring began right away in the first inning when
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) drove in
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) with a ground ball hit to second base.
Telma Roesler (Hastings, Minn./Crown College) would then drive in
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) with a single to right field and the Eagles had a 2-0 lead after the first frame.
The Eagles would add two more runs in the second inning when
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) hit a fly ball to second base. The ball was dropped and
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) and
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Central Methodist) would score unearned runs to put the Eagles up 4-0.
Telma Roesler (Hastings, Minn./Crown College) would continue to make an impact for the UNW offense when she delivered another RBI single in the top half of the fourth inning. Roesler would score off of a double from
Maggie Oehlerking (Farmington, Minn./Farmington). The Eagles led 6-0 going into the fifth inning.
Bethany Lutheran's offense would get something going in the fifth inning as they scored two runs, but the Eagles would answer right back in the bottom half of the inning.
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) delivered a single that scored
Chloe Kimmes (New Trier, Minn./Randolph) and the Eagles extended their lead to 7-2. Despite picking up a couple of runs in the sixth inning, it would not be enough for the Vikings as the Eagles won the first game 7-4.
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) picked up the win on the mound for the Eagles as she pitched six innings. Carlson gave up four runs and struck out two batters.
Diana Boyce (Phoenix, Ariz./Park City) came in and picked up the save for the Eagles by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.
Game Two
Bethany Lutheran would respond immediately in the second game of the doubleheader. The Vikings jumped right out to an early lead by scoring four runs in the top half of the first inning. The Eagles would start chipping into that early deficit by picking up a run of their own in the first inning off of a
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) single that scored
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall).
After surrendering another run to the Vikings in the top half of the second, the Eagles would pick up a run after
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) singled up the middle with the bases loaded.
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) and
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) would score, and the Vikings led 5-3 after the second inning.
The Vikings would hit a solo homerun in the fifth inning, but the Eagles would immediately respond with a
Maggie Oehlerking (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) double that scored a run and the Eagles' deficit remained at two runs.
Bethany Lutheran would add a run in the sixth and another run in the seventh to take a 8-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Eagles would attempt to come back in the final frame but it would not be enough.
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) would hit a single down the left field line that scored
Joelle Bounds (Verndale, Minn./Verndale Public), but the Eagles would still fall 8-5.
Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) would get the start for the Eagles and pitch six innings. Once again, it was
Diana Boyce (Phoenix, Ariz./Park City) who closed things out for the Eagles, pitching another scoreless seventh inning.
Up Next
The Eagles are now preparing for a busy weekend as they will play host to the entire UMAC as the Crossover Weekend will take place at Reynolds Field. The Eagles first game of the weekend is scheduled for 10:00 A.M. on Friday morning. Updates on the UMAC Crossover Weekend can be found on unweagles.com
