QUINCY, Ill. - Angie Lindeman’s two-run single in the top of the eighth inning snapped a scoreless tie Sunday and lifted the Northern Kentucky University softball team to a 3-0 win over Quincy University at Barry Phillips Field.
Lindeman’s clutch hit up the middle drove in both Ricki Rothbauer and Stephanie Leimbach to give NKU a 2-0 lead. Lindeman later scored after a Quincy error to extend the Norse’s advantage to 3-0, and NKU starter Emily Breitholle pitched a scoreless eighth inning to notch the complete-game victory.
Breitholle allowed just two hits in eight innings for NKU, which improved to 34-2 overall, 6-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. She also recorded five strikeouts and tied Laura Watkins for No. 2 on the NKU all-time victory list with her 42nd career win.
In the opener, Krystal Lewallen tied a school record by winning her 20th game of the season as NKU posted an 8-0 victory over Quincy. Lewallen, a sophomore from Crestwood, Ky., struck out 11 batters en route to the three-hit shutout.
Lewallen, now 20-1 this season, is just the second 20-game winner in Norse history. Breitholle posted a 20-5 record in 2002 and is the only other NKU pitcher to win 20 games in a season.
Lindeman hit a pair of home runs and had four RBI to lead NKU, which scored four runs in the third inning and added three more runs in the fifth. Rothbauer went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Leimbach and Megan Reed each added two hits.
NKU is ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region poll. If the Norse remain atop those rankings, they will play host to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament in May.
The Norse - who need just three wins to set a school record for victories in a season - are also ranked No. 8 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll.
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Angie Lindeman |