ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The (RV) Northwestern College softball team (23-7, 2-4 GPAC) opened the home slate this afternoon with a doubleheader split with the Bulldogs of Concordia University (Neb.) (15-13, 4-4 GPAC).
Gwen Mikkelsen tallied her second home run of the season in game two,
Kate Kralik picks up her 13
th win on the season in the circle.
GAME 1: Concordia 3, (RV) Northwestern 1
Pitching Decisions
Win: Camry Moore (9-6)
Loss: Kameryn Etherington (10-2)
Save: N/A
How It Happened
The opening game of the doubleheader proved to be a pitching battle, as both sides could only muster seven combined hits.
Scoreless through the first four frames,
Erika McKenney (So., Hawarden, Iowa/West Sioux) led off the bottom of the fifth with a double.
Kameryn Etherington (So., Algona, Iowa/Algona) would lay down a sacrifice to move her to third.
Emily Strasser would bring her in with a sacrifice of her own, to give Northwestern their only run and the 1-0 lead.
With a full count with two outs, runners on second and third, Concordia's Taylor Glause would go deep to left field, proving to be enough for the Bulldog starter, Camry Moore to finish the deal. Concordia would go on to win the first game, 3-1.
Game Notes
- Offensive struggles plague Raiders in the first game, mustering just two hits on the game.
- Erika McKenney and Kameryn Etherington picked up the two hits for the Raiders.
- Emily Strasser was credited with the RBI with her sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning.
- Northwestern was sent down in order in four of the seven innings.
- Etherington threw her second complete game of the season, allowing five Bulldog hits and just the three runs in the sixth.
- The sophomore's eight strike outs are tied for the second most in an outing this season, bringing her season total up to 68.
GAME 2: (RV) Northwestern 6, Concordia 4
Pitching Decisions
Win: Kate Kralik (13-4)
Loss: Jazi Rowe (5-5)
Save: Kameryn Etherington (2)
How It Happened
The Bulldogs struck first in game two in the top of the first. Three straight Concordia hits, after a lead-off double, plated one run.
Kate Kralik (Fr., Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) settled down to leave runners stranded on first and second.
After a leadoff walk to
Chloe Gallegos (Fr., Carroll, Iowa/Carroll) in the third, head coach
Shane Bouman utilized the small ball to manufacture a run to tie the game at 1-1. An error later in the frame would allow
Madysn Grotewold (So., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) to score from third.
Concordia would push across another run in the fourth to retake the lead, 2-1. The bats stayed quiet for the Raider through the first three innings, as the first hit would not come until McKenney singled to shortstop in the fourth.
The Raider offense finally broke through on the Bulldog starter in the fifth. A couple of Concordia defensive miscues would setup
Jordyn Kramer (Sr., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) with two outs and runners on second and third. She would deliver the biggest hit of the day – just the second of the day at the time – with a single to left field to score two, giving Northwestern the 3-2 lead.
Gwen Mikkelsen (Jr., Casa Grande, Ariz./Mission Heights Prep.) stepped up and blasted a ball over the right field wall to extend the Raider lead to 5-2 in the fifth.
A final insurance run would be scored in the sixth on a
Jennifer Boeve (Jr., Hastings, Neb./Hastings) sac bunt RBI, as the Raiders would need it heading to the final frame. Concordia would threaten in the seventh, scoring two but Etherington would enter to stop the bleeding, as the Raiders prevailed 6-4 to end the home opener with a split.
Game Notes
- Chloe Gallegos reached base safely all three plate appearances today, and scored on all three occasions in the eight-hole for Northwestern.
- Jordyn Kramer did not record an official at-bat in the second game, sacrificing herself via the bunt after Gallegos reached ahead of her.
- Giordano picks up RBIs 30 and 31 with her clutch 2-out, 2 RBI single in fifth inning to put the Raiders up for good.
- Gwen Mikkelsen had her eighth multi-hit game of the season in the second game this afternoon.
- Erika McKenney notched her first multi-hit game of the season at the plate for the Raiders.
- For the sixth time this season, Kate Kralik tossed at least 6.0 innings in her 14 starts.
- The freshman allowed seven hits, four runs, and struck out four in her outing. She now holds an ERA of 2.50 on the season.
- Kameryn Etherington picks up her second save of the season.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach, Shane Bouman (on Concordia's starter game one…):
"(Camry) Moore showed why she's one of the best in the conference this season. She dominated in the circle all game long."
Bouman (on the game two win…):
"We got back to playing good softball this afternoon. We executed our bunts and got hits when we needed them. It was a huge win for us and we needed it! Sometimes you just need a win and we got that in game two."
Bouman (on Bri Giordano's go-ahead 2 RBI single…):
"She's grown so much as a person and a softball player. She had no doubt she would get it. We as a coaching staff knew she would deliver for us!"
STAT OF THE GAME:
5 – The Raiders notched five stolen bases in the two games,
Charli Bomgaars had three of them.
SCOOTER'S PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Game 1:
Kameryn Etherington
Game 2:
Bri Giordano
Up Next: Northwestern will remain at home next Tuesday, April 5 as they welcome the Tigers of Dakota Wesleyan University (9-19, 1-5 GPAC) to Orange City, Iowa for a GPAC doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. at the Softball Diamond.
