Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

CHICAGO, Ill. (Apr. 14, 2022) - Battling heavy gusts in the Windy City, the North Central College softball team extended their conference record to 7-3 on Tuesday after dropping North Park University in a doubleheader at the Holmgren Athletic Complex. The Cardinals secured game one 2-0 and took game two in a close 9-8 win. 

Game one saw the Cardinals take charge right off the bat in the first inning. With two outs and no runners on, Breanna Adams hit a single down the left side and advanced on a wild pitch in time for Alyssa Sturino's double to right-center to bring Adams home. The Cardinals didn't see their next run until the fifth inning when Alexa Sherlund took advantage of a struggling Viking pitcher to move around the diamond. A sacrifice fly by Sarah Lynch was enough to bring Sherlund in, helping North Central to a 2-0 win for game one. 

Lynch and Sturino were each credited with an RBI while Sturino and Adams led the Cardinals with two hits apiece. Gianna Corban pitched all seven innings to extend her win-loss record to 6-1. Corban recorded 13 strikeouts and allowed only five hits.

The Vikings found themselves rallying in game two as their leadoff batter hit a double, followed by a sacrifice bunt, and a triple by Alyssa Aragon to score their first run of the day. With Aragon on third, Alyssa Malicki singled through the left side to score Aragon. Much like game one, the Cardinals utilized a few pitching errors to make their way around the bags to be in a strong position for singles by Sturino and Talia Torosian to tie the score at two-all. 

The Cardinals and the Vikings traded points in the second inning to tie the score at 3-3, as North Park looked to make their run at the top of the third. The Vikings scored five runs on eight hits to take the lead 8-3 before the Cardinals were able to end the inning. 

North Central inched their way back thanks to an RBI double by Torosian and an RBI single for Kylie Ryza to bring the score to 5-8 at the bottom of the third. A Cardinal pitching change during inning three shut down the Vikings' hitting opportunities as Corban struck out two batters while another popped up to have a quick three up, three down scenario in the fourth inning. 

With two outs already in the bottom of the fourth, Sturino hit a clutch three-run homer to tie up the game once more at eight-all. The fifth inning proved uneventful, but the Cardinals took advantage of a throwing error and a passed ball to put baserunner, Jaime Smith in perfect position for an Andrea Richards single to take the lead 9-8 in the sixth inning. The Vikings had one more opportunity to score but Corban rallied to strike out three batters to end game two. 

Sturino led the Cardinals with four RBIs on two hits while Torosian had two RBIs on three hits. Richards, Lynch, and Ryza tallied one RBI each. Adams pitched nearly the first two innings recording one strikeout and allowing seven hits. Corban totaled seven strikeouts and nine hits in her 5.2 innings, earning her the win bringing her to a 7-1 win-loss record. 

The Cardinals host Mount Mary University on Friday, Apr. 15 at Shanower Family Field with the first game set for 2 p.m.

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