Softball Opens Conference Play With Doubleheader Sweep Over Tiffin

OVERVIEW – Tiffin Dragons

SCORES: Northwood 14, Tiffin 1 / Northwood 6, Tiffin 3

RECORDS: Northwood (15-8, 2-0 G-MAC), Tiffin (11-11, 0-2 G-MAC)

LOCATION: Tiffin, Ohio – Paradiso Athletic Complex

RECAP: Northwood softball opened conference play at Tiffin on Saturday (March 16) with a doubleheader against the Dragons. Game one saw a late-game offensive explosion by the Timberwolves, scoring 14 over the last three innings to win 14-1 over the Dragons. In game two, the Timberwolves took the 6-3 victory to sweep the Dragons to start 2-0 in G-MAC play.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Tiffin opened the scoring in the second behind a single that scored a runner from second, 1-0 TU.
• Northwood's Brynn Polega held the Dragons from scoring again going into the fifth, keeping it a 1-0 ballgame.  
• Gabby Schloop continued to get on base for the Timberwolves, leading off the fifth with a walk. A Tiffin fielding miscue put Ashlyn Lundquist on and brought up a red-hot Brittany Steimel to give NU the lead with her 2 RBI-double to right center, 2-1 NU.
• Another double from Ashley Ziel in the fifth extended NU's lead to two, scoring Lundquist pinch runner Chloe Cooper from second, 3-1 NU.
• Northwood's offense kept moving, breaking the game open in the sixth with two outs. Schloop led off with another walk just before Lundquist doubled her home to put NU up 4-1.
• Northwood would score two more via Delanie Gale's single to score Lundquist and another by Steimel to score Gale, making it 6-1, still with two outs.
• The lineup kept moving for Northwood. A wild pitch advanced Steimel to second before a walk to Madison Jordan, and a single by Ziel loaded the bases for the Timberwolves. Northwood seized an opportunity on a Tiffin miscue, scoring two on Gianna Fantin's hit to shortstop, 8-1 NU.
• Northwood offense continued to tack on in the seventh. Jenna O'Berry led off with a single before Schloop scored her with a double of her own, 9-1 NU.
• A bases-loaded walk drawn by Jordan gave the Timberwolves double-digit runs for the third time this season, putting NU up 10-1 in the seventh.
• One batter later, Ziel would cap off a big day for the Timberwolves with a grand slam to left center to make what would be the final score of 14-1. This was Ziel's first home run of the season and tenth of her career. Ziel led the G-MAC in home runs with nine in 2023. 

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 14/14/2, Tiffin 1/5/2
• Runners left on base: Northwood 10, Tiffin 9
• Winning Pitcher – Brynn Polega (5-1), 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 4 K
• Losing Pitcher – Jules King (6-3), 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 8 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ziel: 3-4, HR (1), 2B, 5 RBI, R
• Lundquist: 3-5, 2B, RBI, 3 R
• Steimel: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Schloop: 1-2, 2B, RBI, 3 R, 3 BB
• Jenna O'Berry: 2-2, R
• Fantin: 1-5, 2 RBI

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Like game one, Tiffin jumped out to the early lead, scoring two via a two-run double in the first, 2-0 TU.
• Emily Cox would hold serve until Northwood could tie it in the third, capitalizing on a Tiffin miscue. Schloop's bunt single and Lunquist's hit that was mishandled in left put runners on second and third with one out. RBI singles by Gale and Steimel would tie it at 2-2.
• Elexia Fuentes opened the fourth with a walk, and Jenna O'Berry would walk as well before Schloop singled home pinch-runner Saylar Cuthrell from second to give NU the lead 3-2.
• Another Tiffin miscue in left off a single from Gale brought home Schloop and O'Berry, putting Northwood out in front 5-2.
• Steimel would cap off the Timberwolf sixth with another RBI double, plating Gale from second. Northwood led 6-2 after four innings.
• A Dragons' solo shot in the sixth would cut the lead 6-3, but Tiffin wouldn't add anything for the remainder of the contest.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 6/8/0, Tiffin 3/6/2
• Runners left on base: Northwood 6, Tiffin 4
• Winning Pitcher – Emily Cox (6-1), 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 6 K
• Losing Pitcher – Claire Feldkamp (5-5), 8 H, 6 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 5 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Schloop: 2-3, RBI, 2 R
• Steimel: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
• Gale: 3-3, 3 RBI
• Jordan: 1-3, 2B

UP NEXT

• Northwood softball is back tomorrow (March 17) for a doubleheader at Findlay beginning at 1 p.m. with game two to follow at 3 p.m.