Softball Splits With Cedarville After Up And Down Game Two

OVERVIEW – Cedarville

SCORES: Northwood 8, Cedarville 3/ Northwood 10, Cedarville 11

RECORDS: Northwood (25-17, 15-7 G-MAC), Cedarville (18-29, 13-9 G-MAC)

LOCATION: Lady Jacket Field – Cedarville, Ohio

RECAP: Northwood Softball started their final weekend of regular season action at Cedarville Saturday (April 26). Northwood tabbed their 25^th win of the year with an 8-3 victory in game one. Game two was up and down for the Timberwolves as Cedarville got the 11-10 edge at the end.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• The Timberwolves struck first with a pair of runs in the second. Gianna Fantin doubled to deep center to bring home Abby Robinson. Two batters later, Gabby Schloop drove in Fantin with a sac fly to right, 2-0 NU.
• Ashley Ziel's single up the middle gave NU their third run, driving in Ashlyn Lundquist in the third. Lundquist led off the third with a double to center, 3-0 NU.
• Cedarville added their first run with an RBI bunt single to third in the fourth inning, 3-1 NU.
• Northwood would bust game one open in the fifth, scoring five in the process. Ziel's leadoff single came around to score on a wild pitch before Gage Lambert singled home the pinch runner, Sophia Paluk.
• Northwood's final three runs of the fifth came via subsequent RBI singles from Saylar Cuthrell, Schloop, and Lundquist. Lambert, Fantin, and Cuthrell would be the runners to score, 8-1 NU.
• Cedarville's final rally came in the seventh, scoring twice, but not enough as NU took the 8-3 win.
• Brynn Polega tagged her team-leading 13^th win of the year with her 6.2 IP.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 8/11/2, Cedarville 3/10/2
• Runners left on base: Northwood 8, Cedarville 8
• Winning Pitcher – Brynn Polega (13-5) 6.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 4 K
• Losing Pitcher – M. Merill (6-14) 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Lambert: 3-4, RBI, 2 R
• Ziel: 2-4, RBI, R
• Lundquist: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
• Fantin: 1-2, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, R
• Schloop: 1-3, 2 RBI, SF
• Cuthrell: 1-3, RBI, R

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Northwood makes it the fifth straight season with 25 or more wins, matching the longest stretch in program history. The Timberwolves previously did it from 1995-1999.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood started with what would be a wild game two, with a four-run first. Lundquist led off the game with a single up the middle. Two errors by the Yellow Jackets allowed her to score, starting NU's rally.
• NU added back-to-back RBI singles to right from Lambert and Robinson to keep the lineup moving. Fantin then capped the inning with the Timberwolves' third RBI single, this to right as well, 4-0 NU. Gale, Ziel, and Robinson came around to score on the base hits.
• The Yellow Jackets answered with two runs in the first via an RBI triple to right center and a sac fly to right, 4-2 NU.
• Ziel's single to center drove in Gale from second in the second inning, extending the Northwood lead to three, 5-2 NU.
• In the third, the Yellow Jackets mounted a massive comeback. Cedarville's bats notched six runs on seven hits, including three extra-base hits. Northwood utilized three pitchers to slow the Yellow Jackets down, 8-5 CU.
• Northwood quickly responded to the three-run deficit, tying it at eight in the fourth. Lundquist's single up the middle scored Cuthrell, and Ziel's two-run double to right center brought home her and Schloop, 8-8. Schloop's two walks in the game put her in a tie for the program mark for career walks with 72 (Tara Tigner, 1997-2000).
• Northwood would take the 9-8 lead in the fifth with Lundquist's second RBI single before giving it right back up in the bottom half, allowing Cedarville to score two. A dropped fly in center and a single up the middle gave the Yellow Jackets a 10-9 lead after five.
• Again, Ziel and Gale answered quickly for the Timberwolves in the sixth. Back-to-back doubles gave NU the tie at 10-10 all.
• After five lead changes, four ties, seven errors, and 19 run-producing plays, Cedarville had the lead for good. A fielding miscue at shortstop with two outs allowed the Yellow Jacket runner to score from third, 11-10 CU.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 10/13/5, Cedarville 11/12/2
• Runners left on base: Northwood 6, Cedarville 7
• Winning Pitcher – Emma Wylie (4-3) H, 0 R, BB, 2 K
• Losing Pitcher – Brittani Mutter (2-6) 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (0 ER), BB, 3 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ziel: 3-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI, R
• Lundquist: 3-5, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Gale: 2-5, 2 2B, 3 R
• Cuthrell: 2-3, 2 R

UP NEXT

• Northwood Softball heads to Pepper Pike, Ohio, to face off with the Ursuline Arrows Sunday (April 27) to conclude the 2025 regular season. That doubleheader is set for an 11 a.m. first pitch with game two to follow at Ursuline's softball field.