ROCHESTER, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Softball team completed their dome season on Saturday with a pair of games at the Luther Invitational. In game one of the day, No. 24 Bethel University was able to defeat the Eagles 3-1 to avenge a loss from earlier in the season. In the nightcap, Northwestern bounced back to defeat St. Catherine University, 8-3.
Game One: No. 24 Bethel University Royals
UNW was able to get runners on base in each of the first two innings, but was unable to get them into scoring position. In the bottom of the third, Bethel was able to plate a pair of runs with a two-out double to right center field. The Eagles wasted no time responding in the top of the fifth, beginning with
Lani Schoper (Madison Lake, Minn./Mankato West) picking up Northwestern's first hit of the game. The junior stole second base and wound up advancing to third on an
Emma Edwards (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) single. Freshman
Bryn Anderson (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) then singled to right field to get Schoper home and put the Eagles on the board, but UNW was unable to produce any more runs despite two on and only one out.
The Royals were able to extend their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a one-out groundout to third base, which is where the scoring would conclude. Northwestern tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh when singles by Anderson and
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) brought the winning run up to the plate with two outs, but a fly out to right field ended the threat and gave Bethel a 3-1 win to split the season series.
Anderson was the only Eagle to produce multiple hits and drove in UNW's lone run. Schoper, Edwards and Gee produced the other three hits.
Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) pitched four innings and only surrendered two hits despite the three earned runs.
Maddie Bottineau (Andover, Minn./Andover) came on in relief of Heffron and pitched two scoreless innings, also giving up two hits while striking out a pair.
Game Two: St. Catherine University Wildcats
While Northwestern's second and final game of the day resulted in a sizable win, it may not have appeared to be heading that way early on. St. Catherine got on the board in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly and tacked on another run in the second. The Eagles began to make their move in the bottom half, starting with back-to-back singles from
Emma Edwards (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) and
Bryn Anderson (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson). Both runners advanced into scoring position on a groundout by
Hannah Storey (Big Lake, Minn./Monticello), then
Kate Trump (Faribault, Minn/Bethlehem Academy) walked to load the bases for
Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall). The Rochester native reached base on an error, bringing Edwards home to get UNW on the board. A groundout ended the inning and left three runners stranded.
Next time the Eagles came to the plate, they made the Wildcats pay.
Kate Beer (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) led off the inning with a single and advanced to second base on an error.
Lani Schoper (Madison Lake, Minn./Mankato West) was next up to bat and blasted a home run over the left field wall to give Northwestern a 3-2 edge. UNW threatened to add additional runs when
Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) was hit by a pitch and Anderson hit another single, but a fly out to left field ended the inning.
After another scoreless inning for St. Kate's, the Eagles stayed hot at the plate in the bottom of the fourth. A trio of singles to lead off the inning from Trump, Gee and
Trista Oberle (Hudson, Wisc./Homeschool) loaded the bases for Beer, who reached on an error by the right fielder which allowed two runs to score. Schoper brought one more in on a sac fly to center field, making it 6-2 in favor of Northwestern with three innings to play.
Anderson gunned down a runner trying to steal to end the top of the fifth inning, then led off the bottom half and walked. The freshman advanced to second on a wild pitch, then made her way to third on a single by Storey. Storey stole second to move into scoring position before Trump singled once again, plating Anderson. The first baseman also committed an error on the play, which allowed Storey to score and pushed UNW's lead to 8-2. Gee and Schoper added singles, but Trump was thrown out trying to score on Schopher's.
St. Catherine scored one more run via a fielder's choice in the top of the sixth, but that would be the final run from either team in the game. Northwestern's final indoor game of the season would go down as an 8-3 victory over a 3-2 Wildcats squad.
The box score was plenty busy, headlined by Schoper's 2-2 day and 3 RBI, including the two-run homer. Anderson, Trump and Gee also produced two hits apiece, with Trump, Gee and Beer all driving in one run each.
Emma Morrissey (Wasilla, Alas./Colony) got the win in the circle, pitching three innings, giving up zero earned runs and allowing just two hits.
Ireland Strubbe (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian) threw four innings and gave up two earned runs, four hits, and struck out one.
Up Next
The 2-4 Eagles will next be in action under the Florida sun on Friday, March 7
th at 8:00 AM CT (9:00 AM local time) against the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. They will also take on Allegheny College at 10:15 AM CT (11:15 ET) the same day. We will have plenty of coverage from Florida on unweagles.com.
