***Since the completion of this game, Martin Luther has amended the statistics and sent Northwestern a new stat file for the game. The final score of the contest was 11-3 and not 10-3 as was reported originally***
NEW ULM, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Softball team entered Friday afternoon on what today's youth likes to call "a heater" (please don't make fun of us, we want to be cool too). The ladies had won four consecutive games overall, were 3-0 in UMAC play, and had scored a remarkable 74 runs over their three conference games. The Eagles stayed hot on Friday, defeating the Martin Luther College Knights 10-3 in the first of a three game series.
Scoring double digit runs isn't something that is "normal" in college softball. However for players, coaches, and followers of Coach
Alicia du'Monceaux's Eagles over the last couple of years, it has become normal. UNW led the nation in runs per game a season ago and scored ten runs on Friday for the fifth time this season.
The scoring started right away in the top of the first inning.
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) drew a one out walk and
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star) singled, moving Beer to second base. Beer would race around third and score the game's first run on a single to left field by
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo). The Eagles' led 1-0.
UNW's first lead of the game ended up being a short one. Martin Luther used a leadoff triple in the home half of the first inning to immediately put the pressure on the Eagles. Thanks to an additional walk, steal, and single, the Knights took a 2-1 lead after one inning of play.
The Knights now had the lead and like the Eagles' lead, it evaporated quickly.
Riley Summers (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) hit a one out single and scored when
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) drove her in with a single to centerfield. MLC went down scoreless in the bottom of the second and the game was tied 2-2 entering the third frame.
UNW had scored a lone run in each of the first two innings, but there was a feeling that the Eagles were knocking on the doorstep of a big inning. That big inning came in the third. The avalanche started right away as the first five batters of the inning collected hits and the first two hits were for extra bases.
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Marian) led off the inning and her swing was the biggest of the day for either team. She launched her second home run of the season; a solo blast over the left field fence.
Gabrielle Keith (Marble Rock, Iowa/Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock) followed that up with a double. Keith moved to third base on a wild pitch and
Maggie Oehlerking (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) singled her home.
Riley Summers (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) and
Briar Armatoski (Amherst, Wis./Pacelli Catholic) each picked up base hits to load the bases. Beer and Lundt each picked up RBI singles as UNW went station-to-station on the base paths. Armatoski came in to score when Iverson grounded out to first base. Bentley picked up her second RBI hit of the inning: a sinlge that scored Beer. The Eagles scored six runs in the inning and led 8-2.
Martin Luther got another run off of Eagle starter
Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 8-3. After nothing but runs in the first three innings, both offenses went cold in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. UNW scored two runs in the seventh to push the game to its final score of 10-3, but Heffron would pitch a scoreless seventh as she finished the game with four straight scoreless frames. During those four innings, she only gave up three hits. Heffron picked up her third win of the season in the circle on Friday finishing with 7 innings pitched, three runs allowed, and a season high eight strikeouts.
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) was 3-3 with three runs scored an RBI in the contest.
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Marian) finished with three hits, two RBIs, a home run, and two stolen bases.
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) drove in a pair of RBIs while
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star),
Gabrielle Keith (Marble Rock, Iowa/Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock), and
Riley Summers (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) all had multi-hit games.
The Eagles will close out their season series with the Knights tomorrow (Saturday, April 6
th) in New Ulm. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 11:00am.
