FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Tucson, Ariz. (Mar. 25, 2009)-- The North Central College softball team ended its Arizona spring break trip on a positive note, blanking Buena Vista University (Iowa) 4-0 before out-dueling the College of Saint Catherine (Minn.) 7-6 at the Tucson Invitational Games.

The early game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when a Mary Caron single to center field drove in Kara Reid, who reached base on a fielding error to lead off the inning. The following inning, the Cardinals plated another run thanks to a Brianna Nicholson RBI single to score Erin Drennan while the team added a run apiece in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Nicholson (3-2) picked up the victory, pitching a complete-game shutout, scattering eight hits over the seven innings and striking out one. Chancey Wilcke absorbed the loss for the Beavers (2-11), pitching six innings, allowing nine hits, two earned runs and striking out four.

Drennan and Kelli Lofgren each finished with two hits to lead the team; Drennan was two-for-three at the plate while Lofgren continued her hot-hitting, finishing a pefect two-for-two for her third straight multi-hit game.

Against Saint Catherine, the Cardinals used a five-run fifth inning while withstanding a late comeback attempt by the Wildcats to secure the 7-6 victory and finish the Arizona trip on a three-game winning streak.

Caron led off the bottom of the first with a double, advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt and then scoring after Sammie Bloomfield layed down a bunt single. The Wildcats would even the score in the top of the third when a fielding error allowed Kaitlyn Frank to reach base with two outs, allowing Holli Hentges to score.

North Central would counter in the fourth when a two-out double to left field by Reid drove in Drennan. St. Catherine's plated another run in the fifth inning to knot the score again before the Cardinals exploded for five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Nicholson led off the fifth with a single for the Cardinals as the team hit six straight singles to begin the inning with a Holly Roadruck outfield hit driving in three of the innings five runs.

With the Cardinals just three outs away from the win, St. Catherine's Beth Freier led off the seventh with a triple to right field, re-energizing the Wildcat offense. The Wildcats (1-7) would accrue four runs off five hits in the inning coming within one-run of tying before a groundout to shortstop Laura Whitfield ended the game with two runners stranded on base.

Roadruck (2-2) picked up the complete-game victory, striking out a career-high five batters while Katie Allen took the loss, allowing seven earned runs in six innings of work, striking out just one.

The win was the Cardinals (6-4) second victory over the Wildcats this season. North Central picked up the 5-3 victory on March 20 in the team's first day in Tucson. North Central returns to the diamond on Tuesday, March 31, squaring off against the University of Chicago in the team's home opener at 3:30 p.m.