Superior, Wisc. –– The University of Northwestern Eagles (17-10, 11-3 UMAC) got a huge conference split on Monday afternoon at UW-Superior (26-8, 13-3 UMAC) to keep the two squads even in the loss column. Bethany Lutheran is tied with the Yellow Jackets at the top of the standings.
Game One
Northwestern got on the board first following their thrilling walk-off on Saturday evening after the lightning delay, as Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) recorded a one-out single back up the middle. Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) reached on a fielder's choice and stole second. The Eagles loaded the bases after a Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) walk and Telma Roesler (Hastings, Minn./Crown College) single before Hannah Woodworth (Panora, Iowa/Panorama) drew an RBI walk to make it 1-0.
The Eagles stranded runners in scoring position in the first three innings but could only muster one run. Superior used two hits and three errors to put up five runs in the bottom of the third. The Yellow Jackets added two more in the sixth to extend it to 7-1.
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) got the start in the circle and gave up five unearned runs in 4.2 innings of work. Diana Boyce (Phoenix, Ariz./Park City) finished the game and gave up two unearned runs in 1.1 innings.
Game Two
The Eagles jumped out to another 1-0 lead in the first as Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) led off with a single. Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) bunted her to second, and she came around to score when Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) singled back up the middle. The Yellow Jackets tied it in the bottom of the second and then added two more in the third to make it 3-1.
Northwestern took the lead for good in the top of the fourth. Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) reached on a throwing error before Telma Roesler (Hastings, Minn./Crown College) recorded an infield single. Hannah Woodworth (Panora, Iowa/Panorama) bunted both runners over, and Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) lined a single to right-center to cut the Superior lead down to one. Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Wheaton College) followed with a three-run blast to left field to make it 5-3 Eagles.
The Yellow Jackets cut it down to one in the bottom of the fifth, but Northwestern put an end to any Superior comeback in the top of the sixth. Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) led off with a double before Maggie Oehlerking (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) drew a four-pitch walk. After a pitching change, Gee followed with a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) recorded a sacrifice fly, and Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) reached on a throwing error to reload the bases. All three runners moved up on a wild pitch, scoring Oehlerking before Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) reached on another error to bring Gee across the plate. The Eagles added on when Roesler launched her first homer of the season over the center-field fence to add three more tallies to make the score 11-4.
Superior added one in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the seventh to make it 11-7. Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) moved to 10-3 on the season as she became the first Eagle since Lexi Kopacek in 2019 to record double-digit wins. Gee reached base five times in the contest to lead the team. Carlson, Roesler, Beer, and Bentley all reached twice.
Up Next
The Eagles will continue conference play as they travel to take on University of Minnesota-Morris in a doubleheader tomorrow. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3:30 pm.
