ST. PAUL, Minn. - In a rematch of the 2025 UMAC Championship game, the University of Northwestern battled Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday afternoon in the final day of the UMAC Tournament. Facing the challenge of needing two wins to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, the Eagles carried a late lead before a three-run sixth inning by the Vikings proved to be the difference in a 3-2 setback.
After being shut out by Bethany on Friday, Northwestern threatened immediately in the opening inning. Hannah Storey (Big Lake, Minn./Monticello) led off by dropping a ball just over third base for a single before Bryn Anderson (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk. A pitch then hit Emma Edwards (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) to load the bases with one out, but the Vikings escaped the jam to keep the game scoreless. Bethany answered with a bases-loaded opportunity of their own in the bottom half, but Ireland Strubbe (Chandler, Ariz./Valley Christian) ended the threat with a swinging strikeout.
The Eagles broke through in the second inning. Trista Oberle (Hudson, Wis./Homeschool) singled to right-center and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Hannah Lexvold (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake Area). Lani Schoper (Madison Lake, Minn./Mankato West) followed by ripping a single through the left side to score Oberle and give Northwestern a 1-0 advantage.
From there, both pitchers settled in as offense became hard to come by. Between the second and fifth innings, the two teams combined to reach base mostly through walks and errors in a tightly contested pitchers' duel.
The sixth inning made up for the lack of offense when Edwards swung on the first pitch, resulting in a double. Oberle followed with a clutch single up the middle to plate Edwards and extend the Eagles' lead to 2-0. Bethany answered in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases with no outs before stringing together a three-run inning to move in front 3-2. Northwestern earned a baserunner in the seventh when Storey drew a walk, but the Vikings recorded the final out to secure the victory.
Oberle delivered a strong performance in just her second game back after missing 10 contests due to injury, going 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Edwards finished 1-2 with a double and a run scored, while Schoper drove in Northwestern's other run. Strubbe struck out three batters and allowed no earned runs in the circle.
Despite the loss, the Eagles have an opportunity to continue their softball season. They will find out more details on Monday.
