Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Apr. 24th, 2021) - Earning their second conference sweep of the season, the North Central College softball team defeated Augustana 2-1 in game one before taking down the Vikings in 9-6 in the nightcap at Shanower Family Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals kicked off the action in the bottom of the first inning when Katie Del Re led off with a walk. Jaime Smith sent her to second on a sacrifice bunt. After advancing to third, Breanna Adams hit a clutch two-out single to plate Del Re and put North Central on the board first, 1-0.

Evening the score in the top half of the fourth, Erin Smith scored from a Claire Weeks double. The Cardinals responded in the bottom of the fifth as Del Re doubled and then stole third to put herself into scoring position. Emily Miller extended her hitting streak to 16 with an RBI single to left field to give North Central the lead at 2-1. Gianna Corban kept the Vikings scoreless in the final two frames as she picked up her 8th win of the year.

The bats came alive in game two as an Alyssa Cork sacrifice fly scored Amanda Martinez in the top half of the second inning, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 advantage. North Central added two more in the top of the third when Miller singled to score Alexa Sherlund and Dakota Novak plated Smith, increasing the lead to three.

The following inning, Mary Leskovec scored after she doubled and came around to score thanks to a Sherlund sacrifice fly. Augustana posted a two-run fourth before tallying four runs in the bottom of the sixth to lead 6-4.

North Central used an Adams single to score Del Re to bring themselves with one. After the Vikings recorded the first out of the inning, Talia Torosian sent Miller home on a groundout to even the score and send the game into extra innings.

Playing in their fourth extra-inning contest of the season, North Central put together a three-run top half of the eighth. Del Re doubled to left field, allowing Kylie Ryza to score. Miller then used a bunt single to bring Del Re home before Novak singled to left field as Smith crossed the plate. Despite two hits in the bottom of the eighth, Del Re made a fantastic diving catch to seal the game and give Corban her second win of the day.

The Cardinals travel to Illinois Wesleyan for their first time facing the Titans this year. The doubleheader is set to begin at 3:00 PM at Inspiration Field. You can find links to full in-game coverage HERE.

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