Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (April 25, 2026)- Honoring eight seniors on a sunny Saturday at Shanower Family Field, the North Central College softball team split a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) doubleheader with Millikin University. The Cardinals won game one by a score of 7-5 and lost game two, 7-5.

Millikin took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, loading the bases with a walk, single and fielder's choice. The first run was scored by a hit by pitch, but Juliana Maude left them loaded with a foul out. The Cardinals responded in the bottom half of the frame with a two-out rally and the bases empty. Hailey Morsovillo, Lauren Bowmar and Emma Herder all singled with two outs and Carley Creeth hit a two-RBI single to right field to give North Central a 2-1 lead. Maude settled in and left a runner stranded in scoring position in the second inning to bring the Cardinals' offense up. Back-to-back errors by Millikin put Bailey Miller and Gwen Shouse on base. Gracie Vlach loaded the bases with an infield single and Morsovillo reached on a fielder's choice to the pitcher, who opted to go home but couldn't throw out Miller, giving the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. 

The Big Blue responded in the top of the third inning with a solo shot to left field, cutting the score to 3-2, but that was all they would score in the inning. The Cardinals scored for a third straight inning, starting with Herder leading off with a double into left center field. Creeth singled to right field and Kayla Crabtree muscled a double down the left field line to plate Herder. Nicole Stone grew the lead to 5-2 off a base hit through the middle of the infield, scoring Creeth. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Shouse made it a 6-2 ball game at the end of three innings. The Big Blue tacked on a run in the fifth inning, but Miller responded promptly with a solo home run over the left field wall, making the score 7-3. Millikin attempted to make a comeback in the seventh, getting an extra life after a two-out error allowed a runner to reach and hit a two-run home run. Ultimately Maude would finish the game off with a foul-out for the 7-5 victory. 

Morsovillo and Herder each had 3-for-4 games, while Creeth added two hits and two RBIs. Maude pitched a complete game and picked up win number seven of the season while striking out eight in the outing. 

In game two, the Big Blue matched its game one start with a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Leading off with a single, Millikin stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. An infield single scored the runner, but the scoring stopped there. The Cardinals tied the game up in the bottom of the second with a one-out triple by Herder and a single by Crabtree. Millikin retook the lead in the third with a two-spot after the leadoff batter reached base on a hit by pitch, stole second, and got singled home after an error in the outfield. Three more singles in the inning gave the Big Blue a second run, putting the Cardinals behind, 3-1. The Cardinals responded as Vlach drove in Shouse with an RBI single up the middle. Morsovillo doubled down the right field line and Bowmar drew a walk to load the bases. North Central took a 4-3 lead thanks to a Big Blue error at second base, scoring a pair of runs. They tacked on another run with a Crabtree RBI groundout. Starting pitcher Sam Schilf settled into the game, tossing three scoreless across the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, facing just one more batter than the minimum. 

The Big Blue stormed back in the seventh inning, taking advantage of an error to get the leadoff batter aboard. A single put runners at the corners and with runners on second and third and nobody out, Millikin's cleanup hitter hit a bases-clearing triple to tie the game 5-5. The Big Blue forced a full count walk, and the next batter hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring the go-ahead run to take a 6-5 lead. During the play, the runner on first advanced to third off a throwing error and Millikin scored her off a hit to center field. Maude came in for Schilf to get the final two outs of the inning, giving North Central a chance in the bottom of the seventh, trailing 7-5, but the Cardinals couldn't score. 

Despite the loss in game two, Shouse had a three-hit game, and Crabtree drove in two RBIs. Schilf took the loss in the game, pitching 6.1 innings, giving up seven runs, though only five were earned and striking out three. 

North Central (15-15, 7-7 CCIW) now holds fifth place in the conference with the split of Millikin. The Cardinals hit the road on Tuesday, April 28, in River Forest, Ill., for a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader with Concordia University Chicago.