Softball Posts Doubleheader Sweep At Ashland To Open GLIAC Play

OVERVIEW – ASHLAND

SCORES: Northwood Timberwolves 3, Ashland Eagles 2/Northwood 6, Ashland 3

RECORDS: Northwood 12-9-1, 2-0 GLIAC/Ashland 14-8, 0-2 GLIAC

LOCATION: Ashland, Ohio

RECAP: Softball opens Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play with a road sweep over Ashland Wednesday afternoon (March 20), winning game one 3-2 before taking game two 6-3.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when the Timberwolves broke through. Julia Gross got the Timberwolves on the board thanks to an RBI double.
• Grace Dutoi followed with a two-run single to centerfield, making the score 3-0
• Ashland responded right away, scoring one in the fifth and one in the bottom the sixth to make the score 3-2.
• April Bennett came in to pitch for Northwood with the score 3-2 and shut the door. She allowed one hit over the final 1 1/3 innings to earn the save.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors Northwood: 3/8/0, Ashland: 2/6/3
• Runners Left on Base: Northwood: 7, Ashland: 4
• Winning Pitcher: Taylor Wright (1-0): 4 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
• Losing Pitcher: Hannah Stroe (7-4): 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K
• Save: April Bennett (1): 1 1/3 IP, H, 0 R, 3 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Dutoi: 2-4, 2 RBI
• Julia Gross: 1-3, 2B, R, RBI

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood took the lead in game two on an error to lead 1-0 in the second inning.
• In the third, the Timberwolves extended the advantage to 2-0 on a solo home run by Julia Gross.
• Ashland came back with single runs in the bottom of the third and the fifth to tie the score 2-2.
• The Timberwolves took the lead back in the sixth, starting with a run on an error to make the score 3-2.
• With two outs, Maddie Coulter came through with a two-run single, making the lead 5-2.
• After Ashland scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, the Timberwolves got the lead right back to three runs at 6-3 on a Tara Gross run-scoring single.
• The Eagles put together a pair of two-out singles in the bottom of the seventh but were unable to close the gap.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors Northwood: 6/9/0, Ashland: 3/5/4
• Runners Left on Base: Northwood: 9, Ashland: 2
• Winning Pitcher: April Bennett (4-2): 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K
• Losing Pitcher: Laney Jones (5-4): 6 1/3 IP, 9 H, 6 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Abby Joseph: 3-4
• Tara Gross: 2-4, R, RBI
• Coulter: 2 RBI
• Julia Gross: HR

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will travel to Saginaw Valley Saturday (March 23) for a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.