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

Apr. 21, 2022 - After two consecutive days of doubleheaders clouded by the cold and rain, the North Central College softball team executed a pair of shutouts under bright blue skies as they defeated the Elmhurst University Bluejays 1-0 and 7-0 Thursday afternoon at Shanower Family Field. 

The Cardinals got ahead of their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) opponent in the second inning as Talia Torosian reached on a fielding error by the Bluejays' third-basemen and advanced to second on a grounded out to be in scoring position for Allison Lambert's RBI-double to center field.

With four hits to the Bluejays' three, the Cardinals came away with the game one victory with the help of senior pitcher, Gianna Corban now 11-2 on the season. Corban pitched all seven innings of game one, striking out 11 Elmhurst batters.

Game two began with senior pitcher, Breanna Adams on the mound striking out five having her hand in two assists in the first three innings. The Cardinals found their first run in the fourth inning as Jaime Smith reached on a walk and utilized aggressive baserunning to advance on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error. 

Taking advantage of faulty pitching, Katie Del Re advanced to second on a wild pitch to be in scoring position for Sarah Lynch to hit an RBI single, putting the Cardinals up 2-0 in the fifth inning. As the Bluejay pitching struggled to find its rhythm, the Cardinals racked up the score to 5-0 scoring 3 runs on four hits in the sixth inning. 

A single by Danielle Lambert and a double by Adams early in the seventh inning had two runners in scoring position with Smith up to bat. A sacrifice flyball to left field scored D. Lambert just before Alyssa Sturino singled to advance Adams to third. With runners on first and third, Sturino made a dash to steal second, causing miscommunication and a throwing error by the Bluejays catcher to score Adams. The Cardinals finished out game two 7-0 to extend their overall record to 19-6 and their CCIW record to 9-3.

Lynch, Smith, and Andrea Richards had one RBI each in game two while eight North Central batters totaled the team's 11 hits. Adams extends her pitching record to 8-3 with today's win as she struck out eight and allowed only one hit. 

North Central takes Friday off before returning to action with a doubleheader on the road in Rock Island, Ill. for a CCIW match-up with the Augustana College Vikings on Saturday at Carver Field. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.

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