Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Apr. 14, 2023) - Playing their second doubleheader in two days, the North Central College softball team avenged their losses yesterday as they swept the Mount Mary College Blue Angels on Friday afternoon at Shanower Family Field.
This is the second series between the two schools in program history and the Cardinals held a 2-0 advantage over the Blue Angels coming into the series this afternoon.
Lauren Bowmar started game one on the mound for the Cardinals and made quick work of the Blue Angels as she recorded a 1-2-3 inning on a fly out and two groundouts. In the bottom of the first, Katie Del Re singled to left before stealing second to put herself in scoring position. Talia Torosian ripped a single through the left side to bring Del Re around to score to give the Cardinals a 1-0 advantage.
The Cardinals offense produced once again in the second inning as Charlotte Toosley doubled to start the inning and was driven on by a Del Re single to give the Cardinals a two run lead. Alyssa Sturino lined a triple into right center in the third inning and later scored after
Emma Friedlund reached on an error, giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
After an early flyout, Bailey Miller drew a walk before Sarah Lynch drove in the Cardinals fourth run of the game with a double to center field. Lynch would be left stranded and North Central would head into the fifth inning with a 4-0 lead. The Blue Angels offense came alive in the fifth inning as they loaded the bases with the straight singles. Mount Mary cut the Cardinal lead to three after a single down the right field line from Crystal Peterson.
With the bases loaded once again, the Cardinals looked to Sam Schilf to get them out of the jam. Schilf got the Cardinals out of the inning, only facing two batters as the Blue Angels grounded into a double play followed by a groundout to second base. Schilf capped off game one with two strikeouts before forcing a grounder to give the Cardinals a 4-1 win. Bowmar pitched four innings, allowing five hits and one run while striking out two. Schilf earned the save as she pitched the final three innings, striking out three.
In game two, Torosian got the Cardianls started as she ripped a single through the middle of the infield to advance Lynch to second base. Friedlund reached first base on an error which allowed Lynch to cross homeplate to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. After another shutout inning by Schilf, Miller singled to right center and advanced to second on a wild pitch but the Cardinals left her stranded, keeping the lead at one.
After a Torosian groundout in the third inning, Sturino launched a ball over the left field fence to give North Central a 2-0 lead. Schilf allowed her first hit of the game as Elise DeGrae found a hole in the right side of the infield to break up the no hitter but she bounced back by striking out the next batter to end the inning.
The Cardinals tallied one final hit in the bottom of the fifth inning as Del Re hit a single and took down the Blue Angels 2-0. Schilf pitched seven innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out nine batters as she improved to 2-2 on the season.
The Cardinals head up north to Wisconsin on Wednesday, April 19 for a doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The first game is set for 2 pm at Van Steenderen Softball Complex.
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