Softball Earns Split Against Edinboro & Minnesota St.- Mankato

OVERVIEW – Edinboro & Minn. St. - Mankato

SCORES: Northwood 3, Edinboro 5 / Northwood 3, Minn. St. - Mankato 2

RECORDS: Northwood 10-8, Edinboro 3-2/ Northwood 11-8, Minn. St. - Mankato 9-6

LOCATION: The Spring Games – Clermont, Fla.

RECAP: Northwood softball traveled to Clermont, Fla. for their annual spring break trip. For the fourth game day in a row the Timberwolves played two. In game one, Edinboro would jump out to a lead and never look back, winning 5-3. The Timberwolves would bounce back in game two behind a nine-inning gem by Hailey Leister, defeating Minn. St. – Mankato 3-2.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Edinboro cracked the scoreboard first with a triple in the second before a sac-fly to center drove them in, 0-1 EU.
• Extra base hits were the story for Edinboro scoring on the day, a double down the right field line scored two for the Fighting Scots in the third, 0-3 EU.
• The Timberwolves answered in the third with a score of their own. Gabby Schloop led off with a single to center before Jillian Krawczak's sac bunt resulted in a throwing error that move Schloop to third with no outs. Haley Frank would ground into a double play, scoring Schloop, 1-3 EU.
• The Boro's catcher earned a sac fly in the fourth to extend EU's lead back to three, 1-4 EU.
• Back-to-back doubles by Delanie Gale and Brittany Steimel gave NU another in the fourth, 2-4 EU.
• Edinboro tacked scored on in the sixth on another to extend it back to three with a tricky single to second, 2-5 EU.
• Down three in the sixth, Northwood applied pressure, as Lauren Bennett had a pinch-hit single to center to lead off the inning. A fielder's choice followed by a single from Schloop led to Madelin Skene getting a pinch-hit RBI single up the middle to score one, 3-5 EU.
• The Timberwolves would be able to get anymore, falling to Edinboro, 3-5 EU.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 3/7/1, Edinboro 5/8/2
• Runners left on base: Northwood 9, Edinboro 7
• Winning Pitcher – Macy Sral (2-0) 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 4 K
• Losing Pitcher – Ashley Ziel (1-1), 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 0 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Schloop: 2-3, R
• Steimel: 1-3, 2B, RBI
• Frank: 1-3, BB
• Skene: 1-1, RBI
• Gale: 1-3, 2B, R

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• A tight game throughout, but Gale's opposite-field blast to right put NU up 1-0 in the first.
• Moving into the third, MSU would steal two runs (one unearned) in the third with two hits, two stolen bases, and an error to put Mankato out in front 1-2.
• Hailey Leister struck out the side in the fifth. She went three up, three down in five different innings during the game.
• Gianna Fantin was forced to bat twice after an illegally batted ball. Fantin would get on to lead off the fifth via an error. The next batter, Krawczak, earned her second sac bunt of the day moving Fantin to second and allowing Frank to single to move her to third. Ashley Ziel's sac fly would tie it up, 2-2.
• Heading to extras, NU and MSU would not score in the eighth, but with two out and an 0-2 count on her, Frank drove a line drive to the base of the right-center field wall to score the runner placed on second in the ninth, 3-2 NU.
• Leister wouldn't allow a single added baserunner in the eighth or ninth as Northwood would hold 3-2.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 3/8/1, Minn. St. - Mankato 2/4/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 10, Minn. St. - Mankato 6
• Winning Pitcher: Hailey Leister (6-4) 9 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 8 K
• Losing Pitcher: McKayla Armbruster (6-3) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Leister: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
• Gale: 1-3, HR, RBI, R, HBP
• Frank: 2-5, 2B, RBI

UP NEXT

• Softball is set to take on Notre Dame (OH) and (RV) Seton Hill, Thursday, March 9 for day three of the spring trip to Clermont, Fla. at Legends Way Ballfields. The Timberwolves will play NDC at 9 a.m. followed by a battle with Seton Hill at 11:15 a.m.