Softball Takes Two From Malone

OVERVIEW – Malone Pioneers

SCORES: Northwood 7, Malone 6 / Northwood 7, Malone 2

RECORDS: Northwood (20-9, 7-1 G-MAC), Malone (16-8, 2-4 G-MAC)

LOCATION: Canton, Ohio – Pioneer Softball Field

RECAP: Northwood softball traveled to Malone Monday (March 25) in Canton, Ohio for another conference doubleheader. Game one saw Northwood outlast the Pioneers in a marathon 13^th game, 7-6. The Timberwolves took advantage of Gabby Schloop's grand slam, sweeping the day en route to a 7-2 win.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• A bunt single to open Malone's half of the first started their rally. The Pioneers jumped out to a 3-0 lead with an RBI double to left center followed by two RBI singles.
• Malone added another in the second, taking advantage of a Northwood miscue that started the inning, and came around to score on a sac fly, 4-0 MU.
• Ashley Ziel's second home run of the season brought the Pioneer lead down to three, 4-1 MU.
• Northwood found some two-out magic in the sixth. Two-out singles from Brittany Steimel and Ziel, along with a walk from Gage Lambert left them loaded for Abby Robinson's pinch-hit double, tying the game at 4-4.
• Game one was tied going into extras. Neither team would budge, going scoreless from the sixth to the ninth innings.
• Northwood and Malone would exchange runs in the 10^th, pushing across the international tiebreaker runner from second. Steimel gave NU the 5-4 lead with a sac fly to score Ashlyn Lundquist. A Malone single later made it 5-5, pushing the game to the 11^th.
• In the 12^th, Chloe Cooper grounded out to shortstop to score Krawczak, making it 6-5. The Pioneers countered with a single of their own to tie it at 6-6 in the bottom half of the 12^th.
• Steimel's single to center in the 13^th gave the Timberwolves the 7-6 advantage going into Malone's half.
• Kamden Binney's six strong innings would be the difference in the game. Binney's 1-2-3 inning in the 13^th helped Northwood outlast the Pioneers in a tight game from start to finish.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 7/10/2, Malone 6/10/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 9, Malone 11
• Winning Pitcher – Kamden Binney (3-4), 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 4 K
• Losing Pitcher – Mia Rose (8-5), 13 IP, 10 H, 7 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 10 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ziel: 3-6, HR (2), RBI, 2 R
• Robinson: 1-1, 2B, 3 RBI
• Steimel: 3-5, 2 RBI
• Lambert: 1-2, R, BB
• Polega: 5 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• The Pioneers jumped out to another lead in the first of game two. A walk followed by two doubles by Malone put them out in front 2-0.
• Gabby Schloop made her mark early in game two, blasting her first career home run to left. Not only was it a home run, but also a grand slam after Lambert, Elexia Fuentes, and Krawczak loaded the bases for the Timberwolves, 4-2 NU.
• As the sun set in the seventh, the Timberwolves rallied for two runs behind Jenna O'Berry's lead-off double and a 2-run single from Delanie Gale, 6-2 NU.
• Ziel capped off the three-run seventh for Northwood with a double to center plating, Gale from second, 7-2 NU.
• Emily Cox would go the distance for her sixth complete game of the season, striking out a career-high 10.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 7/6/0, Malone 2/9/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 6, Malone 9
• Winning Pitcher – Emily Cox (9-1), 7 IP, 9 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 10 K
• Losing Pitcher – Grace Kissick (7-3), 7 IP, 6 H, 7 R (7 ER), 5 BB, 5 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Schloop: 1-1, HR (1), 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Delanie Gale: 1-4, 2 RBI, R
• Ziel: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB
• O'Berry: 1-1, 2B, R

UP NEXT

• After their first 29 games on the road to open the season, softball has their home opener beginning Friday with a doubleheader against Trevecca Nazarene starting at 2 p.m. This marks the first-ever matchup with the Trojans in Midland.