Softball Earns Win, Tie On Final Day In Florida

OVERVIEW – MINNESOTA-DULUTH/IUP

SCORES: Northwood Timberwolves 6, Minnesota-Duluth Cougars 4/ Northwood 0, Indiana (Pa.) Crimson Hawks 0 (Eight innings)

RECORDS: Northwood 8-9-1/Minnesota-Duluth 6-9/IUP 4-10-1

LOCATION: Clermont, Fla.

RECAP: Softball finishes their spring trip with a win and a tie, defeating Minnesota-Duluth 6-4 before playing Indiana (Pa.) to a 0-0 rain-shortened tie Saturday (March 16).

MINNESOTA-DULUTH GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• The game was scoreless until the top of the third when the Timberwolves offense got rolling, starting with an RBI single by Torriya Gray-Baker.
• Tara Gross followed with an RBI double, which was followed by a two-run error by the Bulldogs to vie the Timberwolves a 4-0 lead.
• UMD got one back in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 4-1.
• Northwood responded in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a solo home run by Sydni Culps, getting the lead back to four runs at 5-1.
• After Duluth made it 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth, the Timberwolves came right back in the top of the seventh with a run thanks to a Tara Gross run-scoring double.
• UMD made it interesting in the bottom of the inning, plating two runs to make it 6-4. The Bulldogs had two runners on when the final out was recorded.

MINNESOTA-DULUTH GAME STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors Northwood: 6/10/0, Minnesota-Duluth: 4/10/3
• Runners Left on Base: Northwood: 8, Minnesota-Duluth: 5
• Winning Pitcher: Shayna Frank (4-3): 7 IP, 10 H, 4 R, BB, 7 K
• Losing Pitcher: Breanna Swint (0-4):7 IP, 10 H, 6 R (4 ER), BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Culps: 3-4, 2B, HR, RBI
• Tara Gross: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI
• Gray-Baker: 2-4, RBI

IUP GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Pitching and defense led the way for both teams, as the game finished with a total of just six hits and zero errors in seven plus innings of play.
• Both teams had chances to score – IUP had two runners on twice, while the Timberwolves put the leadoff batter on three times in the game.
• Northwood's best chance came in the bottom of the sixth, when NU got two singles to lead off the inning. With runners on second and third and one out, a lineout and a groundout ended the rally.
• The teams were one pitch into extra innings when heavy rains came in, not allowing the remainder of the game to be played.

IUP GAME STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 0/5/5, IUP 0/1/0
• Runners Left on Base: Northwood: 4, IUP: 6
• IUP Pitcher: Lauren Zola: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K
• NU Pitchers: Heather Diercks: 2 IP, 0 H, 4 BB, 2 K/Marissa Tiano: 5 IP, 1 H, BB, 4 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Tara Gross/Julia Gross/Gray Baker/Karli Godlewski/Taylor Schmitt: One hit each

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will travel to Madonna for a doubleheader Tuesday (March 19). First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.