Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
Apr. 5, 2022 - Coming off a two-week hiatus thanks to weather cancellations, the North Central College Softball team turned in a doubleheader sweep over the Wheaton College Thunder on Tuesday at Shanower Family Field. Taking game one 8-7, and game two 4-3, the Cardinals gained their first pair of conference wins this season.
Game one saw the Thunder get ahead 2-0 in the top of the first as Claire Busch hit a two-run home run to take an early lead. Cardinal hits and smart base running in the third inning put North Central on the board as Alexa Sherlund hit a double just in time for Katie Del Re's single to left field to score Sherlund. With two outs, Sarah Lynch reached on a pair of errors by the shortstop as Del Re advanced first to home to tie the score at two-all.
Looking to bounce back from her fielding errors, Wheaton's Ashley Carter answered with a three-run homer to bring the score to 5-2 at the top of the fourth. Jaime Smith hit a solo home run in the fourth inning making the score 5-3. Del Re followed suit in the bottom of the fifth hitting a three-run homer to give the Cardinals the lead 6-5 before Breanna Adams led off in the sixth inning with a solo home run of her own.
Wheaton's Busch tied the score up at seven-all in the seventh inning with a double and two RBIs. With one out and runners on second and third, Wheaton infielders moved in for Talia Torosian's sacrifice bunt that resulted in a collision at the plate with Wheaton's first baseman and catcher, and North Central's Lynch who managed to sneak in for the Cardinals' final run to take game one 8-7.
Del Re led the Cardinals with four RBIs on two hits. Gianna Corban started on the mound pitching 1.1 innings, securing three strikeouts and allowing four hits before Adams pitched the last five innings of game one securing two strikeouts and allowing five hits. Adams was credited with the win to extend her record to 4-2.
Game two began with two scoreless innings on both sides until back-to-back sacrifice hits moved Sherlund around the bases scoring on Adams's sacrifice fly to take the lead 1-0. Wheaton got on the board in the fourth inning as a result of a couple of errors by the Cardinals, bringing the score to even at 1-1. The Cardinals wasted no time to regain the lead off a double to centerfield by Del Re, scoring Andrea Richards from second.
With the Wheaton bases loaded, North Central turned in a clutch double-play to get the out at home and first but that did little to stop Madison Forberg's single to right field that scored two to take the lead 3-2. At the top of the sixth, back-to-back doubles by Sturino and Richards raked in two more runs to regain the lead 4-3 which ultimately ended game two in favor of the Cardinals.
Richards led the team with two hits and four Cardinals tallied RBIs. Adams pitched six innings in game two and allowed six hits earning her fifth win of the season (5-2). Pitching the final inning, Corban struck out one and allowed no hits to secure her second save on the season.
The Cardinals' next game has been moved up to Wednesday, Apr. 6 in Waukesha, Wis. First pitch against the Carroll University Pioneers is set for 3:00 p.m.
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