Softball Takes Game Two To Earn Series Split With SVSU

OVERVIEW – Saginaw Valley St.

SCORES: Northwood 0, Saginaw Valley St. 3 / Northwood 7, Saginaw Valley St. 5

RECORDS: Northwood (31-16, 17-7 G-MAC), Saginaw Valley St. (28-20)

LOCATION: University Center, Mich. – SVSU Softball Field

RECAP: Northwood softball visited Saginaw Valley St. Thursday (April 25) for Midwest regional matchups with the No. 8 regionally ranked Cardinals. In game one, the Cardinals shut down the Timberwolf offense en route to a 3-0 win. The Timberwolves offense came forward in game two to earn a series split with a 7-5 victory.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Saginaw jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a double in the first.
• A solo home run in the third gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
• A sac fly put SVSU up 3-0 later that same inning.
• Northwood's offense was kept off-balance all game as the Cardinals later prevailed 3-0, allowing just one hit.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 0/1/0, Saginaw Valley St. 3/10/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 3, Saginaw Valley St. 6
• Winning Pitcher – Emily Depew (16-6), 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 10 K
• Losing Pitcher – Emily Cox (15-4), 3 IP, 8 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Brittani Mutter: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Game two brought a different story for the Northwood offense. The Timberwolves took advantage of a leadoff throwing error that let Ashlyn Lundquist aboard. Ashley Ziel would follow with a single that moved Lundquist to second before a Delanie Gale groundout scored her, 1-0 NU.
• Gianna Fantin brought home Ziel with a single that bounced off the first base bag to give Nu the 2-0 lead.
• Saginaw cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first with a bases-loaded fielder's choice where Northwood's only play was at second to get an out, 2-1 NU.
• Moving to the third, three straight singles by Ziel, Brittany Steimel, and Gale loaded the bases for Fantin to drive home a pair with a single to right field, 4-1 NU.
• Gage Lambert's ground out to follow brought home Gale as a throwing error brought home Fantin, 6-1 NU.
• Ziel gave Northwood its largest lead with an RBI single in the fourth, scoring pinch runner, Jenna O'Berry from third, 7-1 NU.
• A two-run homer by the Cardinals in the fourth brought NU's lead to four, 7-3 NU.
• In the seventh, the Cardinals made it interesting. A Northwood fielding miscue and two singles loaded the bases with no outs. A two-run single made it 7-5 before Brittani Mutter came in in relief, getting a pop-up and strikeout to save the game.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 7/7/1, Saginaw Valley St. 5/10/2
• Runners left on base: Northwood 2, Saginaw Valley St. 9
• Winning Pitcher – Brynn Polega (8-1), 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 4 BB, 3 K
• Losing Pitcher – Aalana Kimble (6-7), 4 IP, 7 H, 7 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ziel: 3-4, RBI, 2 R
• Fantin: 2-3, 3 RBI, R
• Gale: 1-3, RBI, R
• Mutter: SV (2)

UP NEXT

• Northwood is back in action Friday (April 26) for Senior Day as they close out the 2024 regular season with Hillsdale. The doubleheader begins at noon.