Softball Drops Pair At Valdosta State Tournament

The Northwood University softball team dropped a pair of games at the Valdosta State Holiday Inn Classic Sunday afternoon (February 24).  Northwood lost to West Florida 1-0 before falling to No. 1 ranked Valdosta State 8-4.

Northwood finishes the opening weekend 2-2, having beaten Valdosta and West Florida yesterday.

After scoring 12 runs in a pair of victories yesterday, Northwood's offense was held in check by West Florida in game one.   NU had four hits in the game and had a runner in scoring position three times, but were unable to plate a run.  West Florida got their lone run on a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning.  Maddison Sebald (Bay City, Mich./Western) took the hard-luck loss, allowing one run on six hits in six innings of work.  Sam Zaborowski (Taylor, Mich./Cabrini) continued her strong start in the game, finishing with two hits including a double.

Valdosta State got off to a strong start in game two, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning on a home run.  VSU then made it 5-0 heading into the fifth inning when Northwood fought back.  After the Timberwolves made the score 5-1 on an error, junior shortstop Stacey Klonowski (Canton, Mich./Plymouth) hit a 3-run homer, cutting the Valdosta lead down to 5-4.  But the Blazers responded immediately, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth to earn the win. Zaborowski added two more hits, finishing the opening weekend with a .667 batting average.

Northwood will return to action March 9 at the Rebel Spring games, taking on Caldwell and Southwest Minnesota State.