MANKATO, Minn. - The second day of the Northwestern-Bethany Lutheran Softball series in Mankato showcased an impressive defensive effort from both teams, as there were only nine total hits throughout the game, five three-and-out innings, and no innings with multiple runs scored. BLC struck first in the second and third innings, and UNW responded with one run in the fourth to finish 1-2 in the final game of the series.

In the 1st inning, Lani Schoper (Madison Lake, Minn./Mankato West) was the only Eagle to make it to base after getting walked during her at-bat before the close of the top half of the inning. Bethany Lutheran made it to third, but a quick glove and throw by Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) secured the second out, and a pop-up to Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) closed the inning, leaving both BLC runners away from home plate. The Eagles then went three and out in the top of the 2nd, before BLC opened the scoring with one run in the bottom of the inning and one in the 3rd.

The Eagles crammed the bases in the 4th inning with a Schoper and Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo) singles, and an Edwards walk. UNW then put the one and only Eagle run on the board as Schoper slid home, beating the tag after a wild pitch

Schoper then opened the 6th inning with a ground-rule double and moved to third with Iverson's single. BLC stalled the game-tying run with a double play to keep Northwestern scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Heffron had another strong performance in the circle, going the length of the game. She threw four strikeouts and only surrendered one earned run and five hits. Schoper was perfect at the plate, going 2-2 and scoring the one run for UNW. Iverson was 2-3 from the plate and led the team in putouts with five.

UNW will be back home for the next conference series against the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Game one will be played on Friday at 4:00 PM, followed by a JV game against Superior at 6:00 PM.