The Northwestern College softball team lost to No.25 Midland 5-4 in an elimination game played this afternoon on Christiansen Field in Fremont, Neb. The loss ends the Raiders 2021 season with a 27-18 record.

Tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, Emma Prai hit a two-out single, stole second and scored the winning run on a walkoff hit by Andrea Cespedes. 

Kameryn Etherington (17-6) pitched well in the loss, limiting the GPAC's top scoring offense to six hits and one earned run. The freshman struck out five and allowed just one extra-base hit, a three-run home run by Katlin Anders with two outs.

Both teams totaled six hits; Jennifer Boeve had three of the Northwestern six hits, going 3-for-4. Jessica Mouw, Emily Strasser and Etherington all had one hit and Emily Bosch drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Scoreless after three innings, Northwestern pushed three runs across in the fourth on three hits and two Midland errors. Boeve and Mouw began with back-to-back singles; Delanie Niemyer, running for Boeve, and Etherington, who reached on a walk, scored after a Warriors error on a ball hit by Alayna Bakke. Another Midland fielding miscue on a ball hit by Bosch scored Bakke, giving Northwestern a 3-0 lead.

Midland plated its first run in the bottom of the fourth after singles from Cespedes and Bobbi Singleton; Cespedes came around to score on a wild pitch.

Hailee Fliam (15-6) gave four runs, one earned, and struck out two and improved to 15-6 on the year. Anders was the star at the plate for Midland, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. 

This marks the final game for the three Northwestern seniors; Emily Bosch, Jessica Mouw and Samantha Ubben.