ST. PAUL, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Softball Team took the expression "going out with a bang" to a whole other level on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles closed out the regular season with their two final games at Reynolds Field. UNW completed the season sweep of Crown by winning game one 12-0 and game two 3-0.
Saturday, May 4
th 2024 will be an important day to remember in Northwestern Softball program history. First of all, it was senior day for the class of 2024. In between games, Head Coach
Alicia du'Monceaux and her coaching staff recognized four outstanding seniors for their contributions to the program throughout the years:
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Marian),
Lindsey Dvorak (Richmond, Minn./ROCORI),
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star), and
Ally Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin). Each senior had an underclassman take the public address microphone and speak about them. All four Eagles had touching and heartwarming things said about them by their teammates.
On the field in game one, Eagle Softball history was made; not once, but twice.
Maddie Bottineau (Andover, Minn./Andover) threw the seventh no-hitter in program history and
Gabrielle Keith (Marble Rock, Iowa/Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock) hit a grand slam which gave her nine home runs on the season. Keith's nine home runs put her in a tie for the most home runs an Eagle has hit in a single season. Keith is in a tie with Kristina Tokle who had nine home runs in 2005. Additionally, Keith's grand slam was UNW's 21
st home run on the season as a team. This puts the 2024 Eagles in a tie with the 2004 Eagles for most home runs in a single season. Keith has nine home runs to lead the Eagles,
Grace Bentley (Omaha, Neb./Marian) has five,
Riley Summers (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) and
Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) have two, and
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo),
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake), and
Briar Armatoski (Amherst, Wis./Pacelli Catholic) have one.
Game One
Northwestern entered Saturday's doubleheader with Crown having already punched their ticket to the UMAC Postseason Tournament. The Eagles will be riding positive momentum into next weekend's tournament as they completed a sweep of the Polars on the final weekend of the regular season.
Bottineau's no-hitter was the story of the game in the opener, but the Eagles' offense pulled their weight as well. UNW scored five in the first (thanks in large part to Keith's grand slam), two in the second, two in the third, and three in the fourth.
UNW had 14 hits in the game and did a nice job "spreading the wealth". 10 different Eagles had hits. Keith had four RBIs to lead the way and six Eagles had a single RBI in the game:
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo),
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake),
Ally Ehnstrom (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin),
Trista Oberle (Hudson, Wisc./Homeschool),
Briar Armatoski (Amherst, Wis./Pacelli Catholic), and
Maddie Bottineau (Andover, Minn./Andover). Iverson, Bentley, and Beer scored two runs apiece in the contest.
Prior to last season, UNW's last no-hitter came on March 9
th, 2019 when Abbie Nelson threw a no-no against Finlandia University.
Ireland Strubbe (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian) (who pitched a gem in game two of Saturday's doubleheader) ended that streak on April 14
th, 2023 when she no hit Martin Luther.
Maddie Bottineau (Andover, Minn./Andover) threw the seventh no-hitter in program history on Saturday against Crown.
Bottineau's line on Saturday was five innings, no hits, no runs, two walks, and four strikeouts. The first year Eagle picked up her fifth win of the season as she continues to make a massive impact on her new team in 2024.
Game Two
Ireland Strubbe (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian) entered the circle for the Eagles in game two. While she didn't quite throw a no-hitter, her performance was extraordinary as well.
Strubbe picked up her ninth win of the season by throwing a complete game shutout against the Polars. She went seven innings, gave up four hits, no runs, and only walked one batter. Oh yeah, did we forget to mention? She struck out FOURTEEN BATTERS. Yes, 14. Strubbe faced 29 batters in the game, got 21 outs, and punched out 14 batters. It was truly one of the most dominant pitching performances the Eagles' program has ever seen as Strubbe put on a show striking out batters.
Northwestern's offense did just enough to secure the win in Saturday's finale.
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) scored on an RBI groundout by
Maddie Bottineau (Andover, Minn./Andover) in the third inning before
Briar Armatoski (Amherst, Wis./Pacelli Catholic) scored on
Sydney Lane's (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) sac fly in the same frame. In the fifth inning,
Emma Edwards (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) drove in
Reganne Henning (Beatrice, Neb./Beatrice) with an RBI single.
Megan Lundt (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star) went 3-4 at the plate in the contest.
Allison Terry (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) and
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) each added two hits.
Up Next
The Northwestern Eagles will end the 2024 regular season with an overall record of 21-15. The Eagles went 12-6 in UMAC play and have qualified for the UMAC Postseason Tournament. Seeding, as well as the host site for the tournament, is still yet to be determined. Please check back to UNWEagles.com (as well as UMACAthletics.com) as early as tonight to see where the Eagles landed in the tournament and when their first playoff game will take place. The UMAC Softball Postseason Tournament is double elimination and the tournament champion advances to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The tournament takes place at the home field of the #1 seed.
