FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Louis Groce, Graduate Assistant to the Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302, Graduate Assistant to the Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

(Apr. 30, 2013) – The North Central College softball team squeaked out a 2-1 victory in the opener on Tuesday to snap Aurora University's 25-game winning streak, but the Spartans rebounded and beat the Cardinals 7-2 in the second game of the twin bill.

Vlasta Mangia (22-4) held the Spartan (34-4) lineup scoreless for the first three innings, until the visitors managed their only run off of her in the fourth inning of game one.

Down 1-0, the Cardinals (32-8) rallied for both of their runs in the bottom of the fifth.  In just her second start of the season, Ashley Larak led off the inning with a double that bounced off the top of the center field fence and back into the field of play.  Aurora pitcher Natalie Zanella (18-1) retired the next two Cardinal hitters, but Kiersten Tinkoff came through with a clutch single to score Larak.  Amanda Walker followed by crushing a double to center that scored Tara Sears, who was pinch running for Tinkoff.

With the 2-1 lead, Mangia retired the next six Spartan batters in order to earn her 22^nd win of the season.  The Cardinals gave Zanella her first loss of the 2013 season. 

The Spartans jumped all over Andrea Starr (10-4) in game two, scoring three runs in the first and another in the second to put North Central in an early 4-0 hole.  The Cardinals got on the board in the bottom of the third on another RBI single by Tinkoff.  However, North Central wouldn't score again until the final inning. 

Jordyn Beck pitched the final four inning for the Cardinals, and after she struggled in her first inning and gave up two runs, she settled down and allowed just one more the rest of the way. 

Kayla Antle and Cecie Portillo strung together back-to-back hits in the seventh and Tinkoff made it three in a row with her third RBI single of the afternoon.  Tinkoff's hit was the final one for the Cardinals on the day and its late rally was cut short. 

Tinkoff led the offense with three RBI and four hits, while Antle and Walker collected three hits each. 

North Central has earned the fourth seed in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Tournament and will play regular season champion Carthage College at 12:00 p.m. in Kenosha on Friday.  The Lady Reds swept the Cardinals 7-2 and 5-1 in the regular season.