MORRIS, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Softball team finished up a busy stretch on Tuesday as they played their eighth game in five days as they hit the road to square off with the Cougars of Minnesota-Morris. The Eagles swept the doubleheader by winning 6-3 and 11-6.
Game One
The Eagles, who proved they had a flair for the dramatic this past weekend, needed to come from behind late in the game to win the opening game of the doubleheader. Minnesota-Morris controlled the early stages of the game. The Cougars jumped right on the Eagles on their home field by scoring three runs in the first inning. The runs would be harder to come by throughout the middle innings, as the score would hold at 3-0 until the sixth inning.
Trailing 3-0 in the sixth inning, the Eagles' offense went to work. With
Hannah Woodworth (Panora, Iowa/Panorama) and
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) on base,
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) smoked a ball to third base that found its way into left field. Woodworth would score and the Eagles finally found their way onto the scoreboard. The very next batter was
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo), and she delivered a big hit to tie the game. Iverson hit a ball to the outfield that scored Gee and Carlson. The Eagles' sixth inning rally tied the game.
After a scoreless seventh inning from both teams, the game entered extra innings. The eighth and ninth innings were also scoreless, and finally we entered the tenth inning. After a long offensive drought, it was the senior
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) who came up with the biggest hit of the game. Carlson drove a ball to right centerfield and would make her way all the way around to third base for a triple that scored
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) and
Maggie Oehlerking (Farmington, Minn./Farmington).
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) would provide some insurance by singling home Carlson on the next play. The Eagles won 6-3.
In addition to providing the big hit,
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) pitched all ten innings. Only one of the three runs she allowed was an earned run and the senior racked up seven strikeouts in the contest.
Game Two
After a marathon of a game to open the doubleheader, the bats were warmed up for game two for both teams. Once again, the Cougars would jump out to another lead as they scored a run in the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. However, the Eagles would immediately respond in the top half of the fourth inning.
Hannah Woodworth (Panora, Iowa/Panorama) would hit a sacrifice fly to left field that would score
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) and game two was tied.
The scoring would continue as in the bottom of the fourth inning, Minnesota-Morris would reclaim the lead, 2-1. As the game flipped to the fifth inning, the Eagles' offense broke out in a big way. It all started when
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and hit a single that scored
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake).
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) would then score thanks to a Cougar error. Then
Telma Roesler (Hastings, Minn./Crown College) scored
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) with a base hit. Next, it was
Hannah Woodworth's (Panora, Iowa/Panorama) turn to hit an RBI single.
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) would then score on a groundout by
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Wheaton College). Lastly, there was one more single, this time by
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Central Methodist) that gave the freshman two RBIs. After all that action, the Eagles had scored eight runs in the frame, and led 9-2.
The Cougars would attempt to get back into the game by scoring a couple runs of their own, and the Eagles led 9-5 before they took their last swings of the day in the seventh inning.
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Central Methodist) scored due to an error by the Cougars, and
Briggs Carlson (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) put the exclamation point on her phenomenal day by hitting a single to score
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall). The Eagles won the game 11-6 to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) got the start for the Eagles and pitched five innings, and
Diana Boyce (Phoenix, Ariz./Park City) finished the game out of the bullpen with two innings.
Up Next
This weekend, the Eagles will head to Mankato along with the rest of the conference to compete in the second UMAC Crossover Tournament hosted by Bethany Lutheran. The Eagles will begin the weekend by playing North Central on Friday.
