Softball Sweeps First Day In Florida

OVERVIEW – St. Cloud St. / Clarion

SCORES: Northwood 4, St. Cloud St. 3 / Northwood 16, Clarion 2

RECORDS: Northwood (4-2, 0-0 G-MAC), St. Cloud St. (18-7)/ Clarion (4-8)

LOCATION: Legends Way Complex – Clermont, Fla.

RECAP: Northwood softball opened their annual spring trip south in Clermont, Fla. The Timberwolves started the week with St. Cloud St. and Clarion (March 6). Northwood won game one behind Delanie Gale's walk-off winner, 4-3, before they scored 16 runs in their win over Clarion.

ST. CLOUD ST.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• The Huskies jumped out to the early 2-0 lead in the first. St. Cloud St. led off the game with a double before a walk, a single, walk single combo gave them the lead.
• Delanie Gale answered the Huskie rally with a line shot over the left field wall to cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the first, 2-1 SCSU.
• In the fourth, a couple of fielding errors led to a tie game. Abby Robinson's fly ball fell for Gianna Fantin to tie the game from second, 2-2.
• Ashlyn Lundquist led off Northwood fifth with a double down the right field line. Two batters later, Gale came through again in the fifth with a sac fly to give Northwood the lead, 3-2.
• St. Cloud St. tied it right back up in the sixth. A solo homer to left center tied it at 3-3.
• Following the first inning, Brynn Polega locked the Huskie offense down. She threw six innings, allowing three hits and a run, allowing Northwood to walk it off in the seventh.
• Again, Gale came through in the seventh with a walk-off winner to score Gabby Schloop who walked to open the seventh, 4-3 NU.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 3/6/2, St. Cloud St. 4/8/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 5, St. Cloud St. 7
• Winning Pitcher – Brynn Polega (2-0) 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 5 K
• Losing Pitcher – J. Porter (2-4) 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Gale: 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Lundquist: 3-4, 2B, R
• Fantin: 1-3, R
• Schloop: 2 BB, R

CLARION

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood's offense scored early and often. Lundquist led off with a single before Ashley Ziel doubled off the left field wall to score her.
• Northwood added another via a wild pitch to bring home Gianna Fantin, 2-0 NU.
• The Timberwolf offense broke it open in the second, scoring seven behind five hits and a defensive miscue. Delaney Belding and Payton Schafsnitz each picked up their first career hits and RBIs in the process, 9-2 NU.
• Northwood's offense continued as Ella Wagner smoked her first career home run to left center in the fourth, 10-0 NU.
• Lakyn Karr also recorded her first career hit with a two-run double to score Schafsnitz and pinch runner Sophia Paluk, 12-0 NU.
• Northwood tagged another in the fourth, making it 13-0 after four.
• Fantin singled home two more in the fifth before Schafsnitz capped off her 4-4 day with another two-run single, 16-0 NU.
• Clarion added two in the bottom of the fifth, but Northwood's dominance was too much for the Golden Eagles. NU prevailed 16-2 after five.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 16/15/3, St. Cloud St. 2/3/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 3, St. Cloud St. 2
• Winning Pitcher – Kamden Binney (1-1) 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R (0 ER), 3 K
• Losing Pitcher – A. Perdicari (0-1) 1.2 IP, 6 H, 9 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 3 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Schafsnitz: 4-4, 3 RBI, 2 R,
• Fantin: 3-3 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Wagner: 2-3, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Ziel: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI
• Lundquist: 1-3, 2 R
• Belding: 2B, RBI, R
• Karr: 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, R

UP NEXT

• Northwood softball continues their Florida trip tomorrow with a doubleheader at Sleepy Hollow softball fields in Leesburg, Fla. The Timberwolves open with Sioux Falls at noon, followed by Concordia St. Paul at 2:15 p.m.