ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The (RV) Northwestern College softball team (25-7, 4-4 GPAC) dominated putting up a combined 25 runs in today's doubleheader against the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers (9-21, 1-6 GPAC).
Emily Strasser (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) hit her second home run of the season in game two,
Kameryn Etherington (So., Algona, Iowa) and
Kate Kralik (Fr., Indianola, Iowa) both tossed one-hit wins.
GAME 1: (RV) Northwestern 15, Dakota Wesleyan 0
Pitching Decisions
Win: Kameryn Etherington (11-2)
Loss: Meghan Daffern (5-8)
Save: N/A
How It Happened
Game one proved to be an offensive showcase by the Raiders, tallying 15 runs on 12 hits in five innings of play.
Scoreless through the first two innings, Strasser led off the bottom of the third with a single to left field.
Jennifer Boeve (Jr., Hastings, Neb.) doubled to right center moving Strasser over to third, giving the Raiders two on with one out.
Madysn Grotewold (So., Larchwood, Iowa) would lay down a sacrifice bunt, scoring Strasser and moving Boeve to third.
Bri Giordano (Jr., Arroyo Grande, Calif.) singled to center, scoring Boeve and giving the Raiders a 2-0 lead.
The fourth inning saw the Raiders erupt for 13 runs.
Jordyn Kramer (Sr., Larchwood, Iowa) would be aboard via a hit by pitch and score on a
Chloe Gallegos (Fr., Carroll, Iowa) double. An error would allow Gallegos to score. The ensuing play would see another error allowing another Raider run (5-0). After a Grotewold bunt single, Bomgaars would score, and Boeve would advance to third. Giordano would single scoring another run and giving the Raiders a 7-0 lead. After a Tiger pitching change
Erika McKenney (So., Hawarden, Iowa) would double to left field, scoring two more (9-0). Kramer,
Sydnee Isom (Jr., Fillmore, Calif.), and
Lauren Pavich (Jr., Simi Valley, Calif.) would all single, pushing across four more Raider runs (13-0). Two more runs would finish off the inning via another Tiger error, giving the Raiders a 15-0 lead.
Game Notes
GAME 2: (RV) Northwestern 10, Dakota Wesleyan 0
Pitching Decisions
Win: Kate Kralik (14-4)
Loss: Tava Boone (1-9)
Save: N/A
How It Happened
The second game of the day saw more of the same from the Raider bats. Kralik picked up where Etherington left off and dominated in the circle.
The bottom of the first saw Boeve single and advance to second on a sacrifice bunt. Giordano worked a walk and that was followed by a
Gwen Mikkelsen (Jr., Casa Grande, Ariz.) single that gave the Raiders their first run. With runners on first and second and two outs Strasser smacked a three-run home run over the left center fence to put the Raiders up 4-0.
The bottom of the second saw Kramer double and then steal third base. Boeve hit a double to right field scoring Kramer and pushing the Raider lead to five.
Gallegos started things off in the bottom of the fourth with a single.
Brooke Zylstra (So., Hull, Iowa) came on to run for Gallegos and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Kramer worked a walk after being down in the count 1-2. A double steal set up runners on second and third and Boeve scored both of the runners with a double (7-0). Girodano would earn an RBI single and Mikkelsen would follow with a walk. McKenney would double scoring another run, giving the Raiders a 9-0 lead. Strasser would finish the scoring up with an RBI single (10-0).
Game Notes
- Emily Strasser notched her second home run of the season, totaling four RBIs in game two.
- Jennifer Boeve also notched a multi-RBI game with three.
- The Raiders hit four doubles, two by Boeve.
- Kate Kralik threw a complete game (5 innings) shutout, allowing just one hit and striking out eight.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach, Shane Bouman (on 22 total hits for the day…)
"We did a lot of little things to get back to who we are. We hit and executed bunts, pitched well, and we were aggressive on the bases and kept the pressure throughout."
Head Coach, Shane Bouman (on two shutout, one-hitters by NWC pitching staff…)
"We are young and they keep improving and so are the catchers, that improvement is great to see. When we play good, solid defense behind them that helps too."
Head Coach, Shane Bouman (on how this builds momentum for the upcoming weekend…)
"After dropping four games early in conference play every series is big as we are trying to get back to the top. We just have to focus on us being us and wins will take care of themselves."
STAT OF THE GAME:
8 – The Raiders combined for eight stolen bases on the day. Five in game one and three in game two, two Raiders had multiple stolen bases.
Up Next: The Raiders will travel to Crete, Neb. to take on Doane University in a doubleheader on Friday, April 8, starting at 3:00 p.m.
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