Softball Bounces Back To Take Split On Day Two In Florida

OVERVIEW – Lewis & Wayne St. (Neb.)

SCORES: Northwood 3, Lewis 9 / Northwood 8, Wayne St. (Neb.) 1

RECORDS: Northwood 8-6, Lewis 6-4 / Northwood 9-6, Wayne St. (Neb.) 1-9

LOCATION: The Spring Games – Clermont, Fla.

RECAP: Northwood softball traveled to Clermont, Fla. for their annual spring break trip. Unearned runs were the story of game one versus Lewis as Northwood fell 3-9 to the Flyers. The Timberwolves would later bounce back with an 8-1 victory over Wayne St. (Neb.).

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood jumped out to an early lead in the first when Delanie Gale singled down the left field line, 1-0 NU.
• Later in the first, the Timberwolves added another as Brittany Steimel forced the pitcher off the mound to field a ground ball that enabled Ashley Ziel to score, 2-0 NU.
• Two errors by NU led to the Flyers tacking on five unearned runs in the third, 2-5 LU.
• A double off the left-center wall in the fourth gave Lewis their first and only earned run of the game, 2-6 LU.
• The Timberwolves were down 2-6 when Northwood would load the bases in the fourth with no one out. Haley Frank's fly-out to left scoring Ashlyn Lundquist from third would be the only run NU could earn, 3-6.
• Northwood could not manage any more offense the rest of the game as Lewis broke the game open in the seventh with three more unearned runs that followed an NU error 3-9 LU.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 3/9/3, Lewis 9/11/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 5, Lewis 7
• Winning Pitcher – Delaney Garden (3-1) 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 2 K
• Losing Pitcher – Hailey Leister (5-4), 3.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Madeline Skene: 2-3, 2B
• Ziel: 1-4, R
• Gale: 1-3, RBI
• Frank: 2-4, RBI, R

 GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• In need of a bounce-back game, the Timberwolves' Gianna Fantin came up big with the bases loaded in the second with a 2-RBI single to score Lundquist and Steimel, 2-0 NU.
• WSC added their only run of the game with a double to left, 1-2 NU.
• It was a tight game heading into the fifth, a Wayne St. baserunner led to Leister entering the game. The NU ace shut down the Wildcat offense the rest of the game, allowing just one base runner over the next 2.1 innings.
• Later in the fifth, NU's offense got going as Gale added one of her three RBI with a single up the middle to Frank from second, 3-1.
• Northwood kept applying pressure in the sixth forcing the Wildcats to change pitchers. The pressure of a two-run game led to three wild pitches that scored Jillian Krawczak following her double that led off the sixth, 4-1.
• Following Krawczak's score, NU's patience led to three straight walks before Gale took one for the team with the bases loaded, 5-1.
• The game would be broken open in the seventh with five straight singles by Madison Jordan, Fantin, Frank, Ziel, and Gale gave the Timberwolves three more in the seventh, 8-1 NU.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 8/10/0, Wayne St. (Neb.) 1/4/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 11, Wayne St. (Neb.) 4
• Winning Pitcher: Emily Cox (2-0) 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 4 K
• Losing Pitcher: Grace Lucka (0-3) 6 IP, 9 H, 6 R (5 ER), 4 BB, 3 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Gale: 2-4, 3 RBI
• Frank: 1-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
• Krawczak: 2-4, 2B, R
• Fantin: 2-3, 2 RBI, R
• Jordan: 1-1, 2 R
• Leister: 2.1 IP, SV, 0 H

UP NEXT

• Softball is set to take on regional foes #8 Grand Valley St. and Ferris St., Monday, March 6 for day three of the spring trip to Clermont, Fla. at Legends Way Ballfields. The Timberwolves will play GVSU at 2 p.m. followed by FSU at 4:30 p.m.