Softball Earns Sweep Over Kentucky Wesleyan

OVERVIEW – Kentucky Wesleyan

SCORES: Northwood 13, Kentucky Wesleyan 1 / Northwood 8, Kentucky Wesleyan 1

RECORDS: Northwood 20-12 (4-3 G-MAC), Kentucky Wesleyan 7-27 (0-7 G-MAC) / Northwood 21-12 (5-3 G-MAC), Kentucky Wesleyan 7-28 (0-8 G-MAC)

LOCATION: Owensboro, Ky. – Foster Field

RECAP: Northwood softball took two against the Panthers in Owensboro, Ky. Sunday (April 2). The Timberwolves' victories were both decisive. In game one the final was 13-1 in five innings while game two's final was 8-1.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood started the game hot. Haley Frank singled up the middle just before Ashley Ziel homered to left (third this season). Ziel has homered in back-to-back games, 2-0 NU.
• The panthers would score their lone run of the game with a single, sac bunt, followed by another single to tie it at one.
• Northwood would blow the game open in the second with six runs behind six hits and two errors.
• A fielding error in center would turn Jillian Krawczak's single into a triple and allow Karlie Moore to score from first, 3-1 NU.
• Frank would follow Krawczak with a gap shot to right center, scoring Krawczak, and showing her speed to get the triple, 3-1. Ziel would follow this up with a single to shortstop, scoring another, 5-1 NU.
• Delanie Gale's single later in the second put two aboard for Ashlyn Lundquist. She secured her first of two doubles on the day with a liner to left center to score a pair of Gale and Ziel, 7-1 NU.
• Northwood's final run of the second came via an error by the second baseman, allowing Lundquist to score, 8-1 NU.
• Jillian led off the third with another single up the middle. Frank would follow up with a double to center to add another, 9-1 NU.
• The Timberwolves managed to get bases loaded later in the third, with Gianna Fantin coming to the plate. Chaos ensued as a throwing error from third cleared the bases, leaving Fantin on third and giving NU the commanding 12-1 lead.
• Northwood would put a ribbon on it in the fifth when pinch hitter, Elexia Fuentes, drove in Northwood's final run of the day on a single back up the middle, 13-1 NU.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 13/16/0, Kentucky Wesleyan 1/5/3
• Runners left on base: Northwood 7, Kentucky Wesleyan 4
• Winning Pitcher – Hailey Leister (14-5) 3 IP, 5 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 3 K
• Losing Pitcher – Allie Dunn (5-15), 3 IP, 12 H, 12 R (8 ER), 2 BB, 3 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Frank: 4-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Ziel: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
• Lundquist: 2-2, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Krawczak: 2-2, 2 R
• Gale: 2-4, 2 R
• Fuentes: 1-1, RBI

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood's bats picked up right where they left off after game one. Frank and Ziel led off the first with singles to short before Gale drew a walk to load the bases. Lundquist earned the RBI with a fielder's choice groundball to second to open the scoring, 1-0 NU.
• Two more singles later in the first by Fantin and Bennett pushed the lead to 3-0 in the first.
• Moving to the second, Ziel continued her torrid pace, hammering a two-run homer over the center field wall, 5-0 NU. Ziel has now homered in three straight games and now leads the team in home runs with four this season.
• A Panther HR in the second would be their only run of game two, 5-1 NU.
• In the fourth, the top of the order carried the load. Singles by Frank and Ziel led to a walk to Gale and a sac fly by Steimel, 6-1 NU.
• Following the sac fly, Lundquist earned her third extra-base hit of the day with a triple to right center, scoring two more, 8-1 NU.
• That score would hold over the final three innings behind Brittani Mutter's first career complete game and second victory of the weekend.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 8/12/2, Kentucky Wesleyan 1/7/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 9, Kentucky Wesleyan 9
• Winning Pitcher: Brittani Mutter (3-1) 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 3 K
• Losing Pitcher: Immi Mann (2-12) 7IP, 12 H, 8 R (8 ER), 5 BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Frank: 2-5, 2 R
• Ziel: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Lundquist: 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI, R, SB
• Fantin: 2-3 RBI, BB, SB 

UP NEXT

• Softball is set to take on the Malone Pioneers this Friday in Northwood's mental health awareness games. Games start at 3 and 5 p.m. at Fisher Stadium.