Northwood Takes Split At (RV) Saginaw Valley St.

OVERVIEW – (RV) Saginaw Valley St.

SCORES: Northwood 11, Saginaw Valley St. 3 / Northwood 0, Saginaw Valley St. 8

RECORDS: Northwood (11-17), Saginaw Valley St. (22-10)

LOCATION: University Center – University Center, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood softball traveled to University Center, Mich., on Wednesday (April 8) to face Saginaw Valley St. in a midweek doubleheader. The tale of two games saw the Timberwolves capture the opener 11-3 in five innings before dropping game two 8-0 to the Cardinals.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood struck first in the second inning when Ashlyn Lundquist singled up the middle to bring home Jenna Kowalski, giving the Timberwolves an early 1-0 lead.
• Saginaw Valley St. answered with two unearned runs in the bottom half of the inning, including a first-and-third steal of home and a later single through the right side, 2-1 SVSU.
• Northwood broke the game open in the third inning, capitalizing on two errors for six runs. Ashley Ziel's RBI single and Brittany Steimel's RBI walk set the stage for Lundquist's two-out, bases-clearing double to left-center, driving in Lakyn Karr, Kowalski, and Ziel.
• Saylar Cuthrell capped the third inning with an RBI single to give Northwood a 7-2 lead.
• Lundquist continued her hot stretch, adding an RBI single in the fourth before Brinley Eckerman started the fifth inning scoring with an RBI single through the left side.
• The Timberwolves capitalized on two more SVSU errors. Ella Wagner forced a dropped pop-up in the infield that allowed Eckerman to score before Lundquist capped her 4-4 day with her sixth RBI of the game, a single up the middle to put Northwood up 11-3.
• Kamden Binney nailed it down in the bottom of the fifth to secure the 11-3 game one win in five innings.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 11/12/1, Saginaw Valley St. 3/8/5
• Runners left on base: Northwood 8, Saginaw Valley St. 8
• Winning Pitcher: Kamden Binney (7-6) – 5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• Losing Pitcher: Olivia Elliott (0-1) – 1.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ashlyn Lundquist: 4-4, 2B, 6 RBI
• Brinley Eckerman: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R 
• Ashley Ziel: 2-4, RBI, 2 R
• Jenna Kowalski: 1-2, BB, 2 R

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Saginaw Valley scored the game's first run in the third inning with a solo shot to center, 1-0 SVSU.
• The fourth inning saw a six-run surge from the Cardinals, highlighted by a three-run homer, 7-0 SVSU.
• Northwood's offense was halted in game two, managing just two hits. The Cardinals would hold on to their 7-0 lead to walk it off in the bottom of the fifth for the run-rule victory.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 0/2/0, Saginaw Valley St. 8/8/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 2, Saginaw Valley St. 2
• Winning Pitcher – Macy Irelan (10-4) 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
• Losing Pitcher – Dalaney Gage (3-6) 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Ashlyn Lundquist: 1-2, 2B
• Ashley Ziel: 1-2, 2B

UP NEXT

• Northwood softball will hit the road for a pair of G-MAC doubleheaders next week, traveling to Malone on Friday (April 10) with games starting at 11 a.m., followed by a doubleheader at Walsh on Saturday (April 11) with first pitch at 1 p.m.