Softball Opens Florida Trip With Pair Of Victories

OVERVIEW – SAINT ROSE/MERCYHURST

SCORES:  Northwood Timberwolves 9, Saint Rose Golden Knights 4; Northwood 3, Mercyhurst Lakers 2 (eight innings)

RECORDS: Northwood 4-4, Saint Rose 0-5, Mercyhurst 1-6

LOCATION: Clermont, Fla. (PFX Spring Games)  

RECAP: Northwood got its annual trip to Florida off to a good start with a pair of wins, downing Saint Rose 9-4 before beating Mercyhurst 3-2 in eight inning Saturday (March 4).

SAINT ROSE/NORTHWOOD HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood took command of the Saint Rose game in the bottom of the first inning, plating four runs. Riley Ostapowicz had a two-run double in the first, while Andria Gietl and Abby Joseph each added RBI singles to give the Timberwolves the early lead.
• After Saint Rose got a solo home run in the second, NU responded with four more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Sydni Pauley scored on a wild pitch, which was followed by a Courtney Wensley RBI single. Hayley D'Avilar and Ostapowicz then each drew bases-loaded walks to extend the advantage to 8-1.
• The Golden Knights hit two more home runs to round out their scoring, while Ostapowicz had an RBI single in the fifth for Northwood.

SAINT ROSE/NORTHWOOD STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors Saint Rose: 4/7/0, Northwood: 9/13/0
• Runners Left on Base: Saint Rose: 3, Northwood: 9
• Winning Pitcher: Vanessa Ewing (1-2): 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 K
• Losing Pitcher: Roma Mazzariello (0-2), 2 1/3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 0 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ostapowicz: 2-3, 2B, BB, 4 RBI
• D'Avilar: 2-2, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB
• Joseph: 3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

MERCYHURST/NORTHWOOD HIGHLIGHTS

• Mercyhurst pushed across single runs in the second and the fifth innings to lead 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth.
• That is when Northwood got a big hit from Joseph to tie the game. Her two-run single scored Gietl and Ostapowicz to tie the game.
• The score remained 2-2 heading into extra innings. Mercyhurst had the first chance to score with the runner placed on second base, but D'Avilar threw out the runner from centerfield on a single to keep the score tied 2-2.
• Northwood then earned the win in the bottom of the inning thanks to a pinch-hit RBI single by Meghan Franz that scored D'Avilar and gave the Timberwolves the win.

MERCYHURST/NORTHWOOD STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Mercyhurst: 2/6/0, Northwood: 3/10/1
• Runners Left on Base: Mercyhurst: 8, Northwood: 6
• Winning Pitcher:  Taylor Wright (3-1) 8 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 6 H, 8 K, 2 BB
• Losing Pitcher: Anna Chochis (0-2) 7 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 10 H, 4 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Gartodziej/Ostapowicz/Gietl/Alyssa Westphal: Two hits each
• Joseph: 2 RBI
• Franz: 1 RBI

GAME NOTES

• All three of Northwood's RBIs in the game came from pinch-hitters (Joseph – 2, Franz).

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will continue play in Florida Sunday evening (March 5) with a pair of games. NU will play Georgian Court at 6 p.m. followed by Minnesota State Moorhead at 8:30 p.m.