Contact: Tyler Friel, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Game one box score
Game two box score

FORT MEYERS, Fla. (16 March 2017) – Starting their 2017 season in dramatic fashion, the North Central College softball team opened their season with a 2-1 walk off win against University of Massachusetts Dartmouth before falling 10-5 to The College at Brockport in game two Thursday morning at the Century Link Sport Complex.

In game one, Dartmouth was able to put a run on the board in their first at-bats, taking an early 1-0 lead. The Cardinals answered right back in the second inning as an error by Dartmouth allowed Anna Sefffernick to reach second base. Two batters later, Brooke Kehoe doubled to left field to knot the score at one. North Central and Dartmouth traded zeros until the bottom of the seventh, when Taylor Clugston reached on an error by the Corsairs second baseman gave the Cardinals the runner they needed. One batter later, Molly Price tripled to right field, allowing Clugston to score and ending their first game in exciting fashion.

North Central was outhit against the Corsairs 4-3 but Dartmouth's four errors to the Cardinals one made all the difference. Jessica Weaver earned her first career win as a Cadrinal, throwing a complete game allowing four hits, one run, and one walk while striking out three.

Game two was not as friendly to the Cardinals as they committed six errors in the contest, losing 10-5 to The College at Brockport.

The Cardinals jumoed out to an early 2-0 lead in the first thanks to RBI's from Jenna Trojniar and Seffernick but that lead would not last long as Brockport answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. The Golden Eagles would extend their lead to 5-2 in the second but the Cardinals would not go silently as they chipped away at the lead again in the third, adding two more runs. An RBI single from Kehoe combined with a Sarah Esposito sacrifice fly would have North Central facing a 5-4 deficit after three innings.

The Golden Eagles added one in the fourth but then piled it on in the fifth, scoring four runs on six hits and an error, putting the game out of reach. The Cardinals would score again in the sixth but it would not be enough to overcome the Brockport lead.

The Cardinals were outhit 14-12 and committed six errors to Brockport's three. Kehoe ended the day 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI's. Trojniar, Clugston, and Samantha Phelps all finished the second game 2-for-4.

The Cardinals return to action tomorrow at the same time, playing Curry College and Nazareth College at 9 am and 11 am (ET) respectively.