MANKATO, Minn. - The University of Northwestern Softball team traveled back down to Mankato for the second half of the Bethany Lutheran Kwik Trip Invitational on Saturday, where they took on the Gustavus Adolphus Gusties and the St. Olaf Oles. In Game 1 against Gustavus, the Eagles scored in the top of the first inning, but were unable to hold onto the lead and fell 3-4. Against St. Olaf in game two, Northwestern couldn't keep up with the Oles' prolific offense and lost 2-8.
Game 1: Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties
The Eagles didn't wait long to make their presence known in the MSU dome on Saturday, as Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) put the ball in play and beat the throw to first. Following Beer, Lani Schoper (Madison Lake, Minn./Mankato West) hit a line drive to the Gusties' third baseman who bobbled the catch, allowing both Beer and Schoper to safely make it to base. With runners on first and second, Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo), batting cleanup, hit a single down the middle of the field, pushing Schoper to second and Beer across the plate for the 1-0 lead. The Eagles threatened to score with the bases loaded, but Gustavus found the next two outs to keep the Eagles' lead to 1.
To finish the first inning, Gustavus got contact on the pitches, but the Eagles' defense caught all three balls to close out the Gustavus offense. The Gusties finally found an answer in the bottom of the second after a double and single led to an RBI. The score stayed locked at 1-1 until the bottom of the fourth. After a busy start to the fourth inning, with one out, one run, and a runner on 3rd, Maddie Bottineau (Andover, Minn./Andover) relieved Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) in the circle. Bottineau helped complete the inning after a sacrifice fly and a runner leaving early.
Northwestern equaled the score at 2-2 after a double to left field from Iverson, who was then batted home by Emma Edwards (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine). Despite the Eagles' defense and an impressive out at second base thrown from catcher Sydney Lane (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian), Gustavus found another run after a triple that scored one runner. In the bottom of the sixth, GAC found another run, bringing the score to 4-2.
In the top of the 7th, Northwestern battled at the plate and found one run. The rally was started off by a double to left field by Beer. Schoper then singled, moving Beer to 3rd, and Iverson forced a fielders choice, allowing Beer to tag home. The game ended with a score of 3-4.
Edwards led UNW by going 3-4 at the plate with 1 RBI. Beer went 2-4 at bat, but really shined in the outfield with 5 putouts. Iverson went 1-4, and brought home 2 runs. Iverson also corralled 3 outs.
Heffron pitched three full innings before Bottineau took over. Heffron only allowed 2 runs and 1 walk. Bottineau finished the game and faced 10 batters, while only allowing one earned run.
Game 2: St. Olaf College Oles
Northwestern faced off against another formidable MIAC opponent in St. Olaf for game two. With no break between games, the Eagles had a quick turnaround after a tough loss to Gustavus. Northwestern started strong, but ran out of juice by the final inning, where they allowed 5 runs by the Oles. The final score was 2-8.
To start the game, Ireland Strubbe (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian) delivered two strikeouts to strand a runner on third base. After the strong defensive stand, the Eagles looked to make an impact from the plate. Both Lane and Beer made contact with a pitch, but neither found the ground to get UNW started.
In the top of the second, the Oles scored off of a two-RBI single down the left field line. No additional runs were scored until the top of the fourth when the Oles stole home off a wild pitch. Down three, the Eagles did not give up and answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth. Beer led off with a hard hit drive to left field, making it to second base. Up next was Schoper, who hit a hard ground ball to the shortstop. Schoper was able to make it to base while Beer moved to scoring position at third. During Iverson's at bat, Schoper stole second, encouraging the senior to bring both runners home. Iverson hit a single to center field, batting in both runs.
UNW kept the score within one going into the top of the 7th. Unfortunately, the Oles found their groove and brought home five runs before the Eagles fielded the third out. In the bottom of the seventh, Northwestern, wanting a comeback, was unable to make it on base, ending the game 2-8.
Offensively, Beer and Schoper both went 1-3 at the plate, each scoring once. Iverson tallied the only two RBI of the game. Throughout the day, Iverson drove in four of five runs scored for UNW. Defensively, Lane led the Eagles with seven putouts from behind the plate, followed by four from Iverson and three from Schoper.
In the circle, Strubbe faced 32 batters and struck out seven. The Oles got 7 hits and 6 earned runs against the junior. Late in the 7th inning, Jenna Nusbaum (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) relieved Strubbe and allowed two hits and one run.
Northwestern will be taking on the University of Wisconsin-Stout and St. Catherine University on March 1st at the Luther invitational in Rochester, Minnesota. The games will be at 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM, respectively.
