Softball Win Streak Comes To End In Split With Cedarville

OVERVIEW – Cedarville

SCORES: Northwood 8, Cedarville 2 / Cedarville 5, Northwood 4

RECORDS: Northwood (20-18, 13-7 G-MAC), Cedarville (15-29, 6-12 G-MAC)

LOCATION: Fisher Stadium – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood split Tuesday's (April 21) doubleheader with Cedarville, cruising to an 8-2 win in game one before falling in a tightly contested 5-4 decision in game two.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood jumped out early in the first inning as Delanie Gale reached and came around to score on Ashley Ziel's single up the middle. Ziel later scored as Ashlyn Lundquist ripped a double to right-center, giving the Timberwolves a quick 3-0 lead.
• After Cedarville got one back, Northwood answered with a three-run second inning. A pair of baserunners set the table before Gale pulled a two-RBI single just inside the left-field line, and later in the frame Jenna Kowalski added an RBI single to push the lead to 6-1.
• The Timberwolves kept the pressure on in the fourth as Gale launched a solo home run to left-center, her eighth of the season, extending the advantage to 7-1.
• In the fifth, Meridith Frey reached and used her speed to steal second and advance to third on the throwing  error before Brinley Eckerman lifted a sacrifice fly to center, bringing her home to cap the scoring at 8-1.
• Cedarville's lone other run came on a solo shot in the seventh. Kamden Binney controlled the game in the circle, going the distance for the 8-2 win. This is Binney's sixth win in a row.

GAME ONE STAT

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 8/16/1, Cedarville 2/5/3
• Runners left on base: Northwood 10, Cedarville 8
• Winning Pitcher – Kamden Binney (12-6) – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
• Losing Pitcher – Kara Adkins (1-3) – 0.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER

TOP NU PERFORMERS (GAME ONE)

• Delanie Gale: 3-4, HR (8), 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Ashlyn Lundquist: 3-3, 2B, RBI, BB
• Meridith Frey: 3-3, 3B, 2 R
• Ashley Ziel: 1-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB, R
• Brinley Eckerman: 2-3, RBI, 2 R

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Northwood struck first in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Brittany Steimel outside fair territory to give Ashlyn Lundquist the score for the 1-0 lead.
• Cedarville evened things up in the fifth capitalizing on a defensive miscue, but Northwood answered right back as Brinley Eckerman delivered an RBI single to regain a 2-1 advantage.
• The Yellow Jackets surged ahead in the sixth inning with three runs on a combination of a run-scoring double, a sacrifice fly, and another RBI double to take a 4-2 lead.
• Northwood responded in the bottom half as Gage Lambert came through with a clutch two-RBI single up the middle, tying the game at 4-4.
• Cedarville plated the go-ahead run in the seventh, using a leadoff double and a throwing error to take a 5-4 lead.
• Northwood would go down in order in the seventh, falling 5-4 to split the doubleheader.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 4/9/2, Cedarville 5/10/3
• Runners left on base: Northwood 5, Cedarville 6
• Winning Pitcher – Maya Merrill (6-12) – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
• Losing Pitcher – Kamden Binney (12-7) – 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Gage Lambert: 2-3, 2 RBI
• Ashlyn Lundquist: 2-3, 2B, 2 R
• Jenna Kowalski: 2-3, 2B, R
• Brinley Eckerman: 1-4, RBI
• Delanie Gale: 1-2, 2B

UP NEXT

• Northwood hits the road for the final G-MAC weekend of the season, traveling to Ashland beginning Friday (April 25) with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The Timberwolves then travel to Ohio Dominican on Saturday (April 26) for a pair of games beginning at Noon.