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

RIVER FOREST, Ill. (April 28, 2026)- In the team's final nonconference doubleheader of the regular season, the North Central College softball team used excellent pitching and timely offense to sweep Concordia University Chicago at CUC Softball Field on Tuesday afternoon, with a 2-1 victory in game one and an 8-4 victory in game two. 

The Cardinals only needed two runs to secure the game one victory and scored both runs in the top of the first inning. Gwen Shouse led off with an infield single and moved to third when Gracie Vlach laid down a bunt that put her on first after an error. Hailey Morsovillo grounded into a double play, but Shouse scored during the play to give North Central the 1-0 lead. With the bases empty, Lauren Bowmar worked a full count walk and Emma Herder extended her hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI double, making it a 2-0 lead. Starting pitcher Sam Schilf worked a 1-2-3 top of the first and worked around a pair of baserunners in the second. 

Offense remained dormant for both sides as the Cardinals failed to get a base runner in innings three through five. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Cougars got on the board. A basehit to right field and a groundout moved the runner to scoring position. With one out, an RBI double cut the Cardinals' lead in half, but the inning ended with a lineout to Bowmar at first, which turned into a double play as she fired to Shouse at shortstop. With a 2-1 lead into the seventh, Schilf let up one baserunner but kept the lead safe. 

Herder drove in the lone RBI for North Central in game one with her first-inning double, while Charlotte Toosley had two base hits. Schilf earned win number nine of the season, tossing seven innings of one-run ball and striking out three batters. 

In game two, the Cardinals jumped ahead again in the first inning with Shouse putting herself in scoring position with a single and swiping second and third base. Two batters later, Morsovillo's RBI single to right field gave North Central a 1-0 lead. Making her pitching debut of the season, Nicole Stone responded and kept CUC off the board in the first and second innings, despite runners on base. In the third inning, Vlach singled and stole second base. Morsovillo moved her to third and Bowmar attempted a squeeze bunt, which scored Vlach and became an infield single for Bowmar. Up 2-0 in the third inning, Stone pitched her first clean inning of the game, inducing three balls in play all for outs. 

A two-spot in the fourth inning gave the Cardinals a 4-0 advantage as the Cardinals loaded the bases with singles by Sydney Nienhouse, Bailey Miller and Shouse. Vlach singled home Nienhouse, going station-to-station and Morsovillo followed with her second RBI single of game two. After going two up, two down in the bottom of the frame, Stone ran into some difficulty loading the bases with two walks and a single. The Cougars put two runs up, making the score 4-2, with a double to left center field, but Stone pitched out of the jam with a groundout to shortstop to end the inning. Stone responded in the fifth, with a first-pitch leadoff double and Nienhouse driving in the runner with a single to make it a 5-2 Cardinals lead. 

Charlotte Brummel came in to pitch for Stone in the fifth inning and recorded an out, but the Cougars made the bases full with two walks and a single. An RBI single to right field cut the lead to 5-3 and that would be the end of the outing for Brummel. Schilf came in and locked down CUC with a flyout and a strikeout swinging to end the scoring threat. The Cardinals added three insurance runs in the sixth inning. Morsovillo walked and Bowmar singled, and they both advanced one base with a wild pitch. Herder loaded the bases with a 3-2 walk. Toosley put a ball in play to the pitcher, who committed an error, scoring Morsovillo and allowing Toosley to reach. Kayla Crabtree walked in Bowmar and Herder scored in the following at-bat off a wild pitch to put the Cardinals up 8-3. Schilf pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth but let up a run in the seventh for the 8-4 final. 

Morsovillo had a 3-for-3 performance in game two, driving in two RBIs and scoring once. Shouse, Vlach and Bowmar each had two base hits. Stone hit an extra base hit while picking up her first career collegiate win. Stone pitched four innings of two-run ball, Brummel recorded an out and Schilf got the last eight outs of the game, striking out two. 

North Central concludes the regular season on Wednesday, April 29, when they travel to Rock Island, Ill., for a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin doubleheader against Augustana College. A spot in the CCIW Tournament is on the line for North Central when the first pitch is thrown at 4 p.m. in Carver Field.