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

UW-Eau Claire Box Score

Carleton Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz. (Mar. 22, 2011)-- Pounding out 29 hits, the North Central College softball squad continued its steller play at the Tucson Invitational Games, edging the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 7-6, in extra innings before blasting Carleton College (Minn.) 12-4 in Tuesday's nightcap.

In the day's opening game, North Central (6-2) tallied three runs in the bottom of the eighth to come away with the victory as Laura Constantine belted a walk-off single to left field, scoring Lauren Schramm and snapping the Blugolds' (8-2) eight-game winning streak.

The Cardinals struck first, plating a pair of runs off Laura Whitfield's record-setting home run blast to left center field in the bottom of the first. The home run was the senior's 14th of her career, establishing a new school record.

UWEC plated its first run in the fourth before stealing the lead in the top of the fifth inning with a pair of runs off a Sara Baumgartner single. The Cardinals answered in the bottom of the sixth, capitalizing on a pair of Bluegold errors to score a run and knot the score at three apiece. Eau Claire retook the lead in the seventh while the Cardinals forced extra innings after a Alyssa Rabulinski single brought in Schramm who led off the inning with a base knock.

In the eighth, UW-Eau Claire pushed across a pair of runs while the Cardinals mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning to score three wins and emerge with the victory. Mary Caron started the rally with an infield single, bringing in Colleen Drennan. Caron would later score to tie the game on a Schramm single before Constantine brought in Schramm on a game winning single.

Schramm finished the game four-for-five while Colleen Drennan was three-for-four and Caron was three-for-five.

Katie Crawford (1-1) went the distance for the Cardinals in the circle, tossing all eight innings and striking out four for the victory. UWEC's Ashley Meinen absorbed the loss, pitching the final 1 2/3 inning and allowing three runs.

A pair of big innings propelled the Cardinals to the 12-4 victory over Carleton in the nightcap, avenging the team's defeat to the Knights the day before.

The Knights (2-7) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, scoring a pair of unearned runs. The Cardinals chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the first with a Whitfield single scoring Caron before piling on four runs in the second and five runs in the third to build a 10-3 buffer.

North Central's four run second inning featured RBI singles from Caron, Schramm and Whitfield while Schramm belted a three-RBI double in the third while Whitfield blasted her second two-run home run of the afternoon.

The Knights tallied a run in the fifth off a solo home run by Jocelyn Friedman before North Central generated two runs in the bottom of the frame to enact the mercy rule. Ashley Guest drove in Caron after she reached base by drawing a walk while Constantine closed out the game with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Schramm.

Four Cardinals finished the game with multiple hits with Schramm and Whitfield leading the way, both finishing three-for-four with four RBIs.

Brianna Nelson (3-0) picked up the win, pitching all five innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out one.

North Central closes out its spring break trip on Wednesday facing Saint Catherine University (Minn.) at 12 p.m. (local time) and Saint Olaf College (Minn.) at 2 p.m.