Timberwolves Win In Extras, Lose Close, High-Scoring Game To Split Day Four In Florida

OVERVIEW – Grand Valley St. / Franklin Pierce

SCORE: Northwood 4, Grand Valley St. 3 (8 inn.) / Franklin Pierce 10, Northwood 9

RECORDS: Northwood (4-8, 0-0 G-MAC), Grand Valley St. (6-7), Franklin Pierce (4-0)

LOCATION: Miss Bartow Softball Complex – Bartow, Fla.

RECAP: The Northwood University softball team split a pair of games Monday at the Miss Bartow Softball Complex, earning a 4-3 extra-inning victory over Grand Valley State before falling 10-9 in a back-and-forth contest against Franklin Pierce.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS – GRAND VALLEY ST.

• Northwood struck first in the second inning when Sienna La Sala singled to right field to score Jenna Kowalski for a 1-0 lead.
• Grand Valley State responded in the third inning with a sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout to take a 2-1 advantage.
• The Timberwolves evened the score in the fifth when Ashley Ziel singled to left field to bring home Meridith Frey.
• After both teams remained scoreless through the seventh, the game moved to extra innings.
• In the eighth, Ashlyn Lundquist delivered an RBI single to plate the placed runner before La Sala followed with another RBI single to extend the lead to 4-2.
• The Lakers pushed across a run in the bottom half of the inning, but Northwood held on to secure the 4-3 victory.

GAME STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 4/7/1, Grand Valley St. 3/11/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 10, Grand Valley St. 12
• Winning Pitcher – Kamden Binney (8.0 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K)
• Losing Pitcher – Nevaeh Ingram (2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Sienna La Sala: 2-4, 2 RBI
• Ashley Ziel: 2-4, RBI
• Ashlyn Lundquist: 1-4, RBI

GAME HIGHLIGHTS – FRANKLIN PIERCE

• Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening inning on a pair of RBI doubles.
• Northwood responded with a seven-run second inning to take a 7-2 advantage. Sienna La Sala began the rally with an RBI single before Delaney Belding drove in a run on a groundout. Brinley Eckerman, Ashley Ziel, and Abby Robinson followed with RBI singles, while Ashlyn Lundquist capped the inning with a two-RBI single.
• The Ravens answered with three runs in the third inning to cut the lead to 7-5.
• Northwood added another run in the fourth when Jenna Kowalski singled down the left-field line to score Ziel and make it 8-5.
• Franklin Pierce rallied with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take a 9-8 lead.
• The Timberwolves tied the game in the sixth as Kowalski delivered another RBI single to bring home pinch runner Payton Schafsnitz from second.
• Franklin Pierce scored the go-ahead run in the seventh and held on for the 10-9 win.

GAME STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 9/10/1, Franklin Pierce 10/16/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 12, Franklin Pierce 8
• Winning Pitcher – Brooke Koehler (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 2 K)
• Losing Pitcher – Kamden Binney (2.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, BB, 3 K)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ashley Ziel: 3-5, 2 R, RBI
• Jenna Kowalski: 2-5, 2 RBI
• Ashlyn Lundquist: 1-3, 2 RBI
• Abby Robinson: 1-2, R, RBI

UP NEXT

• Northwood continues play Tuesday (March 10) in Bartow, taking on St. Martin's at 12:30 p.m. before returning to the field at 3 p.m. to face California (Pa.). Both games will be held at the Miss Bartow Softball Complex.