Contact: Ashleigh Jones, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Game one Box Score

Game two Box Score


March 29, 2018- The North Central College softball team silenced the Dominican University Stars with their impressive hitting, beating the Stars 5-3 and 9-6 in their second home doubleheader of the season.

The Cardinals exhibited their defensive poise early with a double play started by Taylor Clugston to Rachele Belletini who then threw to Samantha Phelps to end the top of the first. With two outs off the double play and a quick fly out to left field, North Central's fielding energy translated into a successful inning at bat.

 Thanks to the Cardinals consistent hitting, they closed out the bottom of the first on top after a double by Clugston, which assisted teammate Jenna Trojniar to advance and score following a wild pitch by the Stars. 

At the top of the second, the Cardinals kept their composure defensively and finished the inning with one Star left on third and no runs recorded. North Central would, in turn, earn its second run of the game after wearing down the Stars pitching.

Unfortunately for North Central, Dominican would not go away and scored two runs of their own in the top of the third off of three hits and two errors committed by the Cardinals resulting in the Stars tying the game 2-2. To end its rally, Sarah Esposito relieved starting pitcher Samantha Gadomski.

With each team tallying a run in the fourth neither team seem to be able to pull ahead. North Central, however, dug in and found its swing to break the 3-3 stalemate. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Anna Seffernick breathed life into the Cardinal offense with a single just past the shortstop.

Looking to keep the run alive leadoff hitter, Emily Miller advanced Seffernick to third with a double to left field. The final punch came with another double by Trojniar giving Seffernick and Miller plenty of time to score, giving the Cardinals a 5-3 lead.

Those two runs as well as a defensive team effort not only ended the game swiftly but also gave Esposito the 20th win of her career, making her the 19th Cardinal to enter the 20 win club, with a career record of 20-7.

Looking to sweep the series North Central held a 1-0 lead throughout three innings but the Stars eventually tied the game in the top of the fifth.

Unnerved by the late tie, with no outs and Clugston on base, Phelps stepped up to the plate and knocked a two-run homer giving the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.

Dominican desperate to take the lead at the top of the sixth would answer with their own homerun. This time starting pitcher Jennifer Yager was relieved following a five-run rally by the Stars. Relieving Yager, Jessica Weaver quickly took back control from Dominican, finishing the inning with the Cardinals down 6-3.

With a three-run deficit and just two innings remaining in the second game, the Cardinals took full advantage of the Stars inconsistent pitching and dimmed the Stars chances of a comeback by answering with six runs, taking the lead back 9-6.

At the top of the seventh North Central was ready to put this game away. After a groundout and an error, the Cardinals were just two outs away from a series sweep. Weaver's final pitch of the game was a quickly snatched up by Belletini who tagged the runner at second and zipped back over to Phelps resulting in a textbook double play and an exciting win.

The Cardinals (12-2) are back home to play against Concordia University of Chicago on Thursday, April 5. First pitch is set for 3 PM and for in-game coverage click HERE.