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By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Three big home runs set the stage for the Northern Kentucky University softball team to take two wins against region rival Findlay on Thursday. Katybeth Coode crushed the game-winning home run in the bottom of the sixth for a 3-1 win in Game 1, while Cara Parker’s walk-off grand slam gave the Norse the sweep with an 8-4 decision in Game 2. In Game 1, Katybeth Coode stepped up with one out in the bottom of the sixth and blasted her seventh home run of the season over the right-center field wall to give NKU a 2-1 lead. Gretchen Lorenz’s RBI-single would give the Norse the insurance run they needed to take a 3-1 decision. NKU got on the board in the bottom of the first when Stephanie West opened the game with a walk on five pitches. West proceeded to steal second before advancing on a groundout by Rose Broderick. Amanda Smith would bring West home with a successful suicide squeeze. Findlay got the run back in the fourth inning on an RBI-single by Jaccie Tufts, one of just three hits surrendered by NKU pitcher April Ehlers. Ehlers (5-10) struck out the first six batters she faced, and seven of her first eight, en route to the victory. The freshman fanned 11 all told to go with three walks. Ehlers and Cara Parker were each 2-for-3 at the plate in Game 1. History was made early in a dramatic Game 2, as Coode hit her second home run of the day, and eighth of the season, to bring home Amanda Smith in the top of the first and help the Norse take a 3-0 lead. The shot to right center looked almost identical to her smash from Game 1, but carried with it the significance of setting NKU’s single-season home run mark. Coode surpassed sophomore Rose Broderick, who had seven long balls in her first season with the Norse. Both Coode and Broderick have 10 career home runs, as they chase down Krista Eldridge’s mark of 13 career home runs.
Findlay did not go away quietly, however, as Tufts made noise once again with her first home run of the season in the top of the third, bringing in teammate Kelly Heban and cutting the deficit to one. The Norse scored again in the third on an RBI-double by Coode to plate West, but the two-run lead was quickly erased in the top of the sixth when Jennifer Rolston sent an 0-1 pitch sailing over the left-field wall to knot the game at four and knock Amanda Smith out of the circle for the game. Chelsie Roy came in to retire pinch hitter Audrey Semanco and keep the game knotted at four. Things stayed even until the seventh, when Broderick laced the first pitch she saw into right center for a one-out double, and advanced to third on Heban’s bobble getting the ball in. After Findlay pitcher Jenna Binz intentionally walked Smith and Coode to load the bases, April Ehlers grounded to second, allowing Findlay to get the force at home and retire the second batter of the inning, bringing up Cara Parker for what would unquestionably be the final plate appearance of the seventh. Parker kept herself timed ahead of Binz’s pitches the entire way, fouling off pitch after pitch just off the third base line. After a 10-pitch battle, Parker had finally worked herself a 3-2 count, forcing Binz to keep the ball in the strike zone, lest she walk in the winning run. Parker took advantage and smashed the payoff pitch, Binz’s 108th of the game, over the left-field wall for her second home run of the year, a walk-off grand slam to send the fans home happy. Roy (3-4) was credited with the win, going 1 1/3 innings in relief without surrendering a hit. Amanda Smith pitched 5 2/3 innings in the start, striking out two while allowing seven hits and four runs. Six of NKU’s eight hits went for extra bases in Game 2, as Coode went 2-for-2 with a homer, a double and three RBIs, while Broderick was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Parker claimed four RBIs with her lone hit. Northern Kentucky (13-19) returns to Great Lakes Valley Conference action on Saturday, hosting Saint Joseph’s for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon. |
