ASHLAND, Wisc.- The University of Northwestern Softball team competed in a UMAC doubleheader for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. For the second consecutive time, the Eagles came away with a sweep over a conference opponent. The Eagles defeated the Northland College Lumberjills 6-1 and 8-0.
Game One
The Eagles were coming off of a day in which they scored 40 runs in two games and their offense kept the ball rolling right away on Tuesday afternoon.
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) led off the game with an infield single and then stole second base. After two consecutive outs,
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) delivered a clutch two out double to score Gee and give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Iverson would be stranded at second base and the Lumberjills would respond right away in the bottom half of the opening frame. Northland picked up an unearned run to tie the game at one run apiece.
The Eagles would buckle down in the circle and in the field and not allow another run to score in the contest. Their offense, however, would find their rhythm in the middle innings. Gee would once again get on base and cause havoc on the base paths.
Riley Summers (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) would hit a single through the middle to drive her in for the first of two Eagle runs in the third inning. Summers would then score thanks to a
Lindsey Dvorak (Richmond, Minn./ROCORI) RBI single. The Eagles took a 3-1 lead.
The 3-1 score would hold all the way until the top half of the sixth inning when UNW would add three more insurance runs. The first of these runs came on
Kate Beer's (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) first homerun of the season; a solo shot to right center field. The homerun was already the sixth of the season for the Eagles who have shown a lot of pop in their bats early on in the season. The six Eagle homeruns have come from five different players as the team has also showcased the depth of their lineup in 2023. Gee would then score once again for the Eagles as
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) picked up an RBI double. Lane herself would then score thanks to a groundball hit by
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo). No more runs would be scored in the contest and the Eagles were victorious 6-1.
Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) started the game in the circle for UNW and did concede a run to the Lumberjills, but it was an unearned run. Northland struggled to get offense going against the Eagle right hander only picking up three hits in her five innings of work.
Jenna Nusbaum (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) would pitch two innings in relief and was perfect. The freshman did not give up a run or allow a baserunner.
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) was a thorn in the Lumberjills' side at the top of the Eagle order. She went 4-4 at the plate and scored three runs.
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) was 2-3 with two RBIs.
Game Two
After finding their rhythm in their first road conference game of the year in the opener of the doubleheader, the Eagles kept it going in the finale. Not allowing a run to score and continuing to swing hot bats.
Once again, the Eagles scored right away in the first inning. In the second game of yesterday's doubleheader against North Central (in the first inning as well) the Eagles had
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) steal second base which allowed
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) to scamper home to score a run. With Gee on third base and Lane on first base once again in the opening frame, UNW dialed up the same play. Lane was successful stealing second base which allowed Gee to score, despite Lane being thrown out at third trying to advance another base. The Eagles led 1-0.
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Wheaton College) led off the top of the second inning by being hit by a pitch. Bentley advanced to second base on a groundout the next at bat.
Maggie Oehlerking (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) would then slap a single up the middle to drive in Bentley. It was then Oehlerking's turn to steal second base. Oehlerking would then come around to score thanks to a
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) triple. Beer was then driven in thanks to a
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) single. It was 4-0 in favor of UNW after three innings.
In the fourth inning,
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) came up with the bases loaded and brought everybody home with a base hit to right field.
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) then picked up another RBI in the fifth inning with a single. This stretched the Eagle lead to 8-0, which ended the game after five innings.
Ireland Strubbe (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian) pitched her second consecutive complete game shutout. The freshman didn't give up a run while only giving up five hits in the game and picked up three strikeouts.
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) had quite the day picking up three more hits in the second game of the doubleheader.
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) had two hits, two RBIs, and scored two runs.
Up Next
After starting 4-0 in UMAC play, the Eagles will look to stay hot against conference opponents this weekend. UNW is scheduled to play Bethany Lutheran, Martin Luther, Wisconsin-Superior, and Northland at the UMAC Crossover Weekend starting on Friday, April 14
th. The crossover weekend is scheduled to take place at Crown College, but the times and location could change depending on the weather. Updates to the UNW Softball team's schedule can be found at UNWEagles.com.
