The Northwestern College softball team’s (38-11-1, 15-6-1 GPAC) Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) tournament run ended with another 1-1 day on Friday.
Game one saw a great hitting performance by freshman Chloe Gallegos (Carroll, Iowa), who drove in all four Raider runs, propelling Northwestern to a 4-3 win. Game two was a back and forth battle that saw the Lancers deliver the final blow and take the pod with a 9-5 victory.
GAME 1: Northwestern 4, Concordia 3
Pitching Decisions
Win: Kameryn Etherington (21-5)
Loss: J. Rowe (8-11)
Save: N/A
How It Happened
With the bases loaded Gallegos was hit by a pitch to push the first Raider run across the board in the bottom of the first.
The Bulldogs responded and tied the game at one with an RBI single in the third inning.
In the bottom of the third inning the Raiders responded in a big way, this time Gallegos belted a three-run homerun over the left field wall to push the lead to 4-1.
Concordia would push two runs across, one in the fourth and one in the sixth, but would come up short as freshman Kate Kralik (Indianola, Iowa) would finish the game in the circle for the Raiders.
Game Notes
Gallegos drove in all four Raider runs.
Kameryn Etherington (So., Algona, Iowa) would start the game in the circle, tossing four inning and only allowing one earned run, she tallied her 21st win of the season.
Kralik would throw the final three innings, allowing only one hit and one run, while striking out four.
GAME 2: Mount Marty 9, Northwestern 5
Pitching Decisions
Win: K. Rogers (12-6)
Loss: Kate Kralik (17-5)
Save: N/A
How It Happened
The Lancers were first on the board with a solo homerun in the second inning.
Mount Marty would score two more runs in the third, the first on a triple and the second on a sacrifice fly (3-0).
Jordyn Kramer (Sr., Larchwood, Iowa) would get the Raiders on the board with a solo shot over the left center wall to reduce the deficit to 3-1. Gwen Mikkelsen (Jr., Casa Grande, Ariz.) would double to right center to push another Raider run across (3-2).
The Lancers would walk home a run in the fourth to go ahead by two, 4-2.
Kramer and the Raiders would respond again in the bottom of the fourth. Kramer would triple, scoring a run and Jennifer Boeve (Jr., Hastings, Neb.) hit a sharp grounder resulting in an error by the third baseman and pushing the tying run across (4-4).
The Lancers would regain the lead with a sacrifice fly, 5-4.
The Raiders would not go quietly as Emily Strasser (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) would reach on an error and Bri Giordano (Jr., Arroyo Grande, Calif.) would score, tying the game at five in the fifth inning.
Mount Marty would deliver the final runs of the game in the sixth inning. A close call at home would see the first Lancer run of the inning scored (6-5). The ensuing batter would double, pushing two more runs across (8-5). An RBI single would score one more and the Lancers would prevail 9-5.
Game Notes
Raider pitchers would strand seven Lancer baserunners, but the Northwestern bats would leave six on board themselves.
Etherington threw the first five innings of the contest, allowing six hits and five runs with only three of them being earned.
Kralik finished the final two innings, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out four.
Kramer and Boeve had multi-hit games, each with two hits.
The Raiders had four extra base hits.
STAT OF THE GAME:
38 – The Raiders tallied 38 wins this season, the fifth most all-time in program history.
