Contact:
Adam Poklop, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Apr. 6, 2019 – Plagued by a pair of late-game rallies by Central College (14-4), the North Central College softball team dropped both legs of Saturday's doubleheader, falling 7-2 in the opener before spoiling a two-run seventh-inning lead in the nightcap to lose 4-2.
North Central (15-5, 0-4 CCIW) was slow out of the gate in game one and failed to get a runner past second base until the fifth inning, by which time they faced a three-run deficit.
Samantha Gadomski led off that inning with double to left field, and
Nykia Wetterman laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring Gadomski sixty feet from home, but Mariah Fritz retired the next two batters.
The Cardinals got a leadoff double the following inning as well, this time from
Rachele Belletini, but Fritz put the next three batters down to keep North Central off the board. The Dutch put the game away in the seventh inning, scoring four runs on five hits to push their lead to 7-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The hosts found some offense in the final frame, which was enough to avoid getting shutout, but not enough to comeback. Wetterman hit a two-out single and
Emily Miller reached on an error, setting up
Lisa Harrington who doubled to deep right field, bringing in a pair of runs.
Gadomksi was the lone Cardinal with multiple hits, finishing two-for-three.
Breanna Adams moved to 4-3 with the loss.
After making the final out in game one, Belletini kicked off the nightcap with a two-out solo shot that easily cleared the wall in left-center field, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the day. Adams knocked a solo home run of her own in the fourth inning to double North Central's lead, and
Jaime Smith nearly went back-to-back, flying out to the warning track.
In the circle,
Gianna Corban proved a worthy adversary for the Dutch hitters, putting down the first nine batters she faced in order and kept Central without a hit through four innings. But a fifth-inning blooper to center field broke up the no-hitter and provided Central with a leadoff baserunner, who scored off a sacrifice bunt to cut the lead to one, where it would remain until the top of the seventh.
Down to their final two outs, Central rallied for two straight singles before Daria Parchert emptied the bases with a triple and scored on a groundout to bring push Central's lead to 4-2. Although the Cardinals drew a leadoff walk, their bid for a comeback ended with a double play.
North Central was held to just three hits in the nightcap, their lowest hit total of the season. Belletini's home run was her fourth of the season and 10th of her career, while Adams' was her second of the season.
Corban struck out a game-high three in seven innings, moving to 7-2 on the season.
North Central closes their eight-game homestand with a doubleheader against Aurora University on Tuesday, Apr. 9. Game one is set to begin at 3 p.m.
