 |
By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information DECATUR, Ala. - The win one, lose one trend of the Northern Kentucky University softball team continued Saturday on day two of the Alabama-Huntsville Charger Chillout tournament. NKU picked up a key region victory with a 3-2 triumph over Wayne State (Mich.), but suffered an 8-3 defeat at the hands of Delta State in their second game. Rose Broderick started the day the same way she started her last game, taking a 3-1 Nicole Abel pitch over the fence in left center to lead off the bottom of the first and take the early 1-0 lead. Broderick got the job done again in the second inning, singling to bring in Shatona Campbell, who snapped an 0-for-13 slump with a one-out single. After a Becky Napier single to lead off the third for NKU, Campbell came through with a soft pop up that fell just out of the reach of Wayne State second baseman Stephanie LeClair to score Napier and extend the lead to 3-0. Amanda Van't Wout got Wayne State on the board with a one-out double to right in the top of the fifth inning to bring Lisa Seymour in from second base and cut the lead to two. The Warriors threatened again in the seventh, loading the bases with a walk and back-to-back singles from Van't Wout and LeClair. After a soft line out to shortstop by Sarah Kish, Sarah Berry brought the Warriors within one with a sacrifice fly to right to score Sarah Teller with two outs. NKU pitcher Amanda Smith shut the door from there against Robyn Haig with her fourth strikeout of the game. Smith (2-3) scattered nine hits and allowed just one earned run to pick up the victory for the Norse. Nicole Abel (0-1) took the loss for Wayne State, giving up three runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Molly Yetmen pitched three perfect innings in relief, striking out five, but it wasn't enough for the Warriors, who took their first loss of the season. In the nightcap, Broderick extended her hitting streak to eight games with her third consecutive leadoff extra-base hit, this time driving a double to right-center on the first pitch of the game from Delta State's Kate Moreland. However, the Norse would strand her there to end the frame. Delta State cracked the scorebook open in the bottom of the first after a Courtney Clark single to right brought one around from second. Northern Kentucky answered in the top of the second with an RBI infield single from Krista Smith, scoring Jenny Weis from third base to tie the game. The Lady Statesmen were not done, as an errant throw on a stolen base attempt skipped into center field, allowing Brittany Tillery to give DSU the lead again. Delta State picked up two more runs in the fourth on a pair of successful squeeze plays, which were answered by Amber Gregory's two-out, two-run single to score Broderick and Cara Parker and keep the deficit at one. After Lindsay Cordell plated a run on an RBI fielder's choice and Brittany Tillery recorded an RBI single, Chasey Niebrugge blasted a two-run home run to left center to hang a four-spot on the Norse in the inning and open up an 8-3 advantage from which NKU could not recover. Moreland (2-3) got the win for the Lady Statesmen, despite walking five NKU batters in 4 1/3 innings. Randa Blenden pitched 2 1/3 scoreless frames to pick up her first save of the season. Candace White (2-1) took her first loss of the season in 3 1/3 innings of work, allowing four runs on five hits. Karen Simmons gave up four unearned runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief. The Norse continued their one-for-one trend, moving to 4-4 on the season. |
