Softball Sweeps Doubleheader Against Ferris State

OVERVIEW – FERRIS STATE

SCORES: Northwood Timberwolves 4, Ferris State Bulldogs 3/Northwood 12, Ferris State Bulldogs 4 (6 innings)

RECORDS: Northwood 22-17, 10-12 GLIAC / Ferris State 14-26, 8-16 GLIAC

LOCATION: Fisher Stadium – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood posted a pair of wins Wednesday (April 25) over Ferris state, winning game one 4-3 before posting a 12-4 win in game two.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• The Timberwolves were able to strike first with authority in the bottom of the second. Leading off, Torriya Gray-Baker connected on a solo shot to right field to make it 1-0. Not to be outdone, Sydni Culps immediately followed her teammate with a solo home run of her own to left, extending the lead to 2-0 going into the third.
• Ferris State was able to counter in the top of the third. After a double and single put runners at first and third with one out, a three-run homer that just made it over the left field fence vaulted the Bulldogs into the lead 3-2.
• Northwood answered quickly in the bottom of the inning and drew even. After Sydni Pauley and Abby Joseph reached on singles to lead off the inning, Culps walked to load the bases with one out. Karli Godlewski was able to bring one run home on an RBI single to center, tying the game at three after three innings of play.
• The Timberwolves went ahead in the fourth by capitalizing on an error. After Meghan Franz reached on a dropped pop-up and advanced to second with two outs, Joseph plated her with an RBI single to center to make it 4-3 Northwood going into the fifth.
• This turned out to be the game-winning run as Makenzie Norton shut down Ferris State for the final four frames.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 4/4/1, Ferris State: 3/6/3
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 9, Ferris State: 7
• Winning Pitcher – Makenzie Norton (6-3): 7 IP, 6H, 3 R, 2 K, 3 BB
• Losing Pitcher – Abby Highway (8-7): 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 K, 2 BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Pauley: 2-4, R
• Joseph: 2-4, RBI
• Gray-Baker: 1-2, HR, R, RBI, BB
• Culps: 1-2, HR, R, RBI, BB 

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• The Bulldogs took their first lead of the afternoon by striking quickly in the first, plating 4-0 heading into the bottom of the opening frame.
• Northwood answered immediately in their first at-bats. Gross, Maddie Coulter, and Pauley each reached on a walk, single, and error respectively to load the bases. With one out, Joseph. Culps, Godlewski, and Chase Schultz each cracked back-to-back-to-back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game 4-4.
• The Timberwolves capped their big first inning by taking the lead before the frame was over. With the bases still loaded, Julia Gross scored Culps from third on a groundout to put Northwood in front 5-4 going into the second.
• NU went right back to work in the bottom of the second. Coulter, Pauley, and Gray-Baker each reached to load the bases with zero outs. Joseph plated Coulter with a sacrifice fly and Godlewski drove in another with a long RBI single off the center field wall, making the spread 7-4 going into the third.
• The Timberwolves took advantage of mistakes by the Bulldogs to extend the lead. Pauley reached on a single and moved to second on an error, and Gray-Baker plated her after reaching first on a wild throw by the third baseman to make it 8-4 after three.
• Northwood added to their sizable lead in the bottom of the fifth. Coulter and Pauley lead off the frame back-to-back singles to left field, and Gray-Baker drove both of them home with a two-run base hit giving Northwood their ninth and tenth runs of the ballgame.
• The Timberwolves weren't done swinging the bats in the bottom of the sixth and ended the game early via a mercy rule. Loading the bases once again, Coulter grounded out to plate Chase Schultz from third. The winning run scored, fittingly, on a wild pitch as Julia Gross slid under just the tag at home to give NU the doubleheader sweep.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 12/14/1, Ferris State: 4/7/4
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 8, Ferris State: 4
• Winning Pitcher – Makenzie Norton (7-3): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, 0 BB
• Losing Pitcher – Sam Bates (6-13): 5 IP, 12 H, 10 R (6 ER), K, 3 BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Pauley: 3-4, 4 R, 2 RBI, BB
• Coulter: 3-4, 3 R, RBI
• Godlewski: 3-4, 2 RBI
• Joseph: 1-2, 2B, R, 3 RBI

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Norton had three wins coming into the yesterday's doubleheader against Ashland. She has now won four consecutive contests for the Timberwolves in the last two days.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will host Wayne State on Friday (April 27) for a doubleheader against the Warriors in the Timberwolves' home finale. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.