MANKATO, Minn. - The University of Northwestern's Softball team took the field for the championship round against the hosting Bethany Lutheran Vikings on a cloudless, hot afternoon in Mankato. UNW struck first and fast, but was unable to plate any additional runs after the first inning. In a game of talented pitching and limited runs, the talented BLC team won 5-2 to end the Eagles' season.
Opening the game, Lani Schoper (Madison Lake, Minn./Mankato West) picked up right where she left off yesterday and had a deep double to right field, scoring Mikayla Gee (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall), who had been walked to first. With Schoper on second, the new All-Time leading RBI holder, Jadyn Iverson (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo), did what she does best and hit a screamer through the 3-4 hole to collect another RBI for the second run of the inning.
After the first inning, against one of the top pitchers in the conference, UNW struggled to make plays with their bats, as the Eagles only made contact for six hits and struck out eight times. Defensively, Northwestern put forth an impressive showing, allowing Bethany Lutheran to score only in two of the seven innings. In the field, the Eagles found six outs through seven batters in the opening two frames. Bethany Lutheran opened their scoring in the 3rd inning, and advanced the tying run with a double to enter the 4th inning with two runs apiece. Kate Trump (Faribault, Minn/Bethlehem Academy) was the only Eagle to find first base during Northwestern's next at-bat, and the Vikings responded with an action-packed inning as they scored three runs on three hits to go up 5-2 at the end of the 5th inning.
In the 6th frame, Schoper singled and made her way to third with two sacrifice hits, but BLC found the third out before Schoper could make it home. UNW again performed well on defense, keeping Bethany within reach, but couldn't find any additional runs in the final inning.
Schoper and Terry each finished the game with 2 hits on 3 attempts, while Schoper and Iverson tallied the only two RBI of the game. Pitching for the Eagles was Emma Heffron (Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) with the start, who pitched four solid innings before switching with Ireland Strubbe (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian) for the final two innings. The Eagles only surrendered seven hits and four earned runs.
This game wraps up the UMAC Tournament run for the Eagles as they finish 28-16, which ties the program record for most wins in a season. The nine seniors on the team will be missed next year as they graduate next weekend. Stay tuned for the final awards that will be announced in the coming weeks.
