Softball Opens Florida Trip With Sweep Over St. Cloud St. And Wayne St. (Neb.)

OVERVIEW – St. Cloud St. & Wayne St. (Neb.)

SCORES: Northwood 2, St. Cloud St. 1 / Northwood 9, Wayne St. 0

RECORDS: Northwood (6-4), St. Cloud St. (13-5)/ Northwood (7-4), Wayne St. (2-17)

LOCATION: Auburndale, Fla. – The Spring Games

RECAP: Northwood softball opened their southern swing at The Spring Games in Auburndale, Fla. Thursday (March 7). The Timberwolves first of 12 games started with a 2-1 victory versus St. Cloud St. In game two of the day, NU would win convincingly 9-0 over WSC.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• A Northwood fielding miscue in the first led to two stolen bases and St. Cloud St. jumping out to a 1-0 lead behind an RBI groundout.
• Moving to the fourth, down 1-0 the Timberwolves Madison Jordan took a 1-2 pitch to right to single to lead off the NU rally. Another single by Jillian Krawczak and a HBP by Brittany Steimel gave the bases loaded for Gianna Fantin. Fantin bloop single to right center tied it at 1-1, scoring Jordan.
• Ashlyn Lundquist led off the fifth with a single up the middle before Ashley Ziel's sac bunt moved her to second. Delanie Gale's liner back up the middle put the Timberwolves up 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
• Brynn Polega shut down the Huskies' offense over her seven innings pitched, allowing just three hits and zero earned runs while striking out five. The Timberwolves' offense scored just enough for Polega, winning 2-1.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 2/8/2, St. Cloud St. 1/3/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 7, St. Cloud St. 7
• Winning Pitcher – Brynn Polega (3-1), 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 5 K
• Losing Pitcher – Emma Eickoff (4-2), 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 3 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Jordan: 2-3, R
• Lundquist: 2-3, R
• Gale: 1-3, RBI
• Fantin: 1-3, RBI

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• The game was scoreless going into the top of the fourth before the Northwood bats came alive. Gale notched the Timberwolves' first home run of the year via a solo shot to left center, 1-0 NU.
• Krawczak followed Gale with a bunt single before Fantin's triple to right center scored her from first to make it a 2-0 ball game.
• Northwood added two more on Steimel's laser over the left field fence. One batter later, 4-0 NU.
• In the fifth, Gabby Schloop walked to lead off the inning before stealing second. Lundquist's single to center pushed the Northwood lead to five, plating Schloop from second.
• The Timberwolves made it a 6-0 advantage in the sixth with the second home run off the bat of Steimel. This is the junior's first career multi-homer game and the first Timberwolf with two home runs since Ashley Ziel versus Ursuline (April 8, 2023).
• In the seventh, the Timberwolves showed patience at the plate, collecting four straight walks by Lillia Sherman, Delani Paulsell, Fantin, and Steimel and a HBP from Schloop to push the lead to what would end up being the final, 9-0.
• Emily Cox went a strong six shutout innings, striking out a career-high (8) and allowing just three hits, earning her second win of the season.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 9/10/1, Wayne St. 0/3/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 7, Wayne St. 5
• Winning Pitcher – Emily Cox (2-1), 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 8 K
• Losing Pitcher – C. Carraher (0-4), 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Steimel: 2-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Gale: 3-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Fantin: 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI, R, BB
• Lundquist: 1-4, RBI
• Schloop: 1-1, RBI, BB, SB, R

UP NEXT

• Northwood softball is back tomorrow (March 8) for games three and four of their 12-game stint with battles versus Seton Hill at 10 a.m. followed by Minnesota-Duluth at 12:30 p.m.