Softball Loses Pair To Ashland

OVERVIEW – ASHLAND

SCORES: Ashland Eagles 2, Northwood Timberwolves 1/Ashland 4, Northwood 2

RECORDS: Northwood 23-20-1, 13-11 GLIAC/Ashland 28-18, 13-11 GLIAC

LOCATION: Fisher Stadium – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Ashland uses strong pitching and timely hitting to earn doubleheader sweep over Northwood Softball Saturday (April 20).

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood's defense prevented Ashland from opening the scoring in the third. A hit-by-pitch, single, and walk loaded the bases with two out. On a sharp ground ball to shortstop, Julia Gross was able to make a diving stop and off-balance throw to third to keep the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the third.
• The Timberwolves finally broke the scoreless tie in the fifth with a two-out blast. Karli Godlewski smacked a solo home run over the left-field fence, homering for the second consecutive game, giving NU a 1-0 lead heading into the sixth.
• Ashland put together a two-out rally of their own to go ahead in the seventh. After a fielder's choice and two walks loaded the bases, a clutch bloop double down the left field line scored a pair and made it 2-1 Eagles heading into the bottom of the frame.
• Northwood got runners to second and third in the bottom of the inning but were unable to tie the score.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 1/4/0, Ashland: 2/6/0
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 3, Ashland: 11
• Winning Pitcher – Laney Jones (13-8): 7 IP, 4 H, R, 3 K, BB
• Losing Pitcher – April Bennett (7-7): 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 6 K, 5 BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Godlewski: 1-3, HR, 1 RBI
• Abby Joseph: 2-3
• Chase Schultz: 1-2

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Ashland struck first in the top of the third. A double and ground-out put a runner at third with two out. A line drive double off the centerfield wall plated her to put the Eagles up 1-0. Later in the frame, a rundown allowed another AU run to score before an out was recorded. This increased the edge to 2-0 heading into the bottom of the inning.
• Ashland increased their edge in the top of the fifth. A two-out, infield single kept the inning alive, and a line drive double to the left-centerfield gap extended the spread to 3-0 going into the bottom of the frame.
• The Eagles tacked on an insurance run in the seventh. A solo home run over the left-field scoreboard extended the lead to 4-0 and effectively put the game out of reach.
• The Timberwolves did not go quietly in the seventh. Godlewski singled, Tara Gross singled, and Julia Gross walked to load the bases with two out. Joseph came through with a single to score two and cut the deficit down to 4-2. That is as close as NU would get, however, as AU eventually shut the door to win by two. 

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 2/8/0, Ashland: 4/6/1
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 8, Ashland: 2
• Winning Pitcher – Hannah Stroe (13-10): 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 3 K, BB
• Losing Pitcher – Shayna Frank (7-8): 7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 6 K, BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Tara Gross: 3-4, R
• Joseph: 1-3, 2 RBI
• Schultz: 2-3, R
• Gray-Baker: 2-3, 2B

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Tara Gross posted her 14th multi-hit game this year, notching her fourth 3-hit game on the campaign. She leads the Timberwolves with 50 hits.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will host Saginaw Valley on Monday (April 22) for a doubleheader against the Cardinals. First pitch is set for 3:30 pm.