ST. PAUL, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Softball team competed in the first UMAC Crossover Weekend of the season this past weekend. The entire weekend was scheduled to take place at Crown College but Saturday's games were moved to UNW due to field conditions because of the rainy weather. Playing at Reynolds Field through the wind and the rain, the Eagles picked up two important UMAC wins defeating the defending conference champions Wisconsin-Superior 12-8 in a high scoring affair and Northland College 3-2 in a low scoring affair.
Game One
Runs came fast and furious in a game that featured the top two teams from last year's regular season conference standings. Despite playing at Reynolds Field, the Eagles were the visiting team which means they went to the plate first and they immediately put a run on the board.
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) drew a one out walk and then stole second. She would later score the game's opening run when a ball hit by
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) was misplayed by the defense. The Eagles' 1-0 lead did not last long as the Yellowjackets got a run of their own in the bottom of the opening frame by hitting an RBI single to tie the game 1-1.
UNW took back the lead in the top of the third inning
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) hit an RBI single that scored Iverson. In the bottom of the inning, Superior pushed two runs across the plate thanks to a sacrifice fly and another RBI single to take their first lead of the game, 3-2.
The scoring was only just getting started. This time it was the Eagles' turn to respond in the top of the fourth inning. An error off of a ball hit by
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Central Methodist) allowed
Riley Summers (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) to score but Lane was thrown out at home trying to take the lead. The game was tied 3-3 when the Yellowjackets took their swings in the bottom of the fourth. They took the lead back by hitting another sacrifice fly. After they held the Eagles scoreless in the fifth inning, they piled on four more runs to take (what looked like at the time) a commanding 8-3 lead.
Trailing by five runs with only two innings left, the Eagles' offense went to work and put together a remarkable final two frames to storm back and steal the game from the Jackets. In the top of the sixth inning Lundt hit a single that scored Lane and also loaded the bases.
Gabrielle Keith (Marble Rock, Iowa/Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock) then drew a walk to score Summers.
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Wheaton College) would deliver a huge two run double to pull the Eagles within one run, 8-7. Keith would score thanks to a sacrifice fly from
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) to tie the game. Then freshman
Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) would step into the box for the biggest at bat of the game, where she ripped an RBI triple to bring Bentley around to score the go ahead run. When the top of the sixth ended, UNW had scored six runs and now led 9-8.
In the seventh inning,
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Wheaton College) would give UNW some breathing room. She came up with the bases loaded and drilled a double to bring everybody around to score. Superior would not score a run in either of the final two innings and UNW held on for a 12-8 win.
Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) got the start for UNW and pitched three innings giving up three runs.
Jenna Nusbaum (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) got the win out of the bullpen by pitching four innings, giving up five runs (only two of them earned), and collecting three strikeouts.
Game Two
If you showed up a little late to the second game of the doubleheader, there is a good chance you missed all of the runs that were scored in the game. The Eagles, playing as the home team against the Northland Lumberjills, were looking for a season sweep having defeated Northland twice earlier in the week. All five of the games' runs were scored in the first two innings with neither team scoring in the final five frames.
Northland didn't score in the top of the first inning, and then
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) went to work for UNW in the bottom of the first. Gee singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundball out by
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian), and then scored on a wild pitch. UNW led 1-0.
Northland would score two runs in the top of the second inning to take a 2-1 lead. The Lumberjill lead would not last long as the Eagles responded in the bottom of the inning.
Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine), one of the heroes from game one, hit a double that drove in
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Wheaton College) and
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Central Methodist) and gave UNW the 3-2 lead that would hold all the way to the end of the contest.
Strong pitching from both team's was the story throughout the ball game.
Ireland Strubbe (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian), who threw a no-hitter a day earlier, was fantastic once again on Saturday. The freshman pitched a complete game and struck out six batters in her seven innings only giving up two runs.
Up Next
UNW will host a rematch with Wisconsin-Superior at Reynolds Field on Wednesday, April 19
th. It is a doubleheader with the first game starting at 3:30 PM.
