Softball Splits Doubleheader with Northwestern College
#32 freshman Brooke Townsend at pitcher, #24 sophomore Camry Moore at first base, #2 sophomore Kylee Nixon at second and #35 Regan Karel at right field
Photo Courtesy of Olivia Dunklau
By Olivia Dunklau
In their first home game of the season, the Bulldogs softball team split a doubleheader against Northwestern College out of Orange City, IA. The Bulldogs won the first game 4-3 and lost the second 7-1.
It was a windy day at the Plum Creek Ballfields, as wind gusts from centerfield would regulate where the ball went. This would keep scores close in the first game and not so much the second for the Bulldogs.
“It wasn’t a great day for playing softball because the wind wasn’t on our side with the ball movement,” said freshman pitcher Brooke Townsend. “We had hard hits but couldn’t get past the wind.”
The score laid at 0-0 until the bottom of the third inning for the Bulldogs. Junior Tori Homolka doubled in three runs. Sophomore Kylee Nixon had a single while sophomore Camry Moore and junior Janessa Jarvis both got on base with a walk.
By the fifth inning, the Red Raiders had a three-run rally tying the score at 3-3. By the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs had the bases loaded. Freshman Brena Brown got on by a single, Jarvis a walk and Homolka a single. Junior Hhana Haro was up to bat and sent a hard hit to third base which was just enough to move the runners and score at home plate.
This was another win for Moore who pitched all seven innings. Her season record pitching is now 10-1. She allowed only three runs on seven hits while walking two batters and striking out two.
In the second game, freshman Jerzi Rowe started out pitching. The Red Raiders fired off six hits and five runs off of Rowe, earning a 5-0 lead by the third inning. In the top of the sixth inning, Haro hit a double and scored off of a run batted in by sophomore Regan Karel.
Townsend finished the game pitching for a total of four innings. Townsend only allowed two runs on five hits.
“I think what we learn from games like this is that we just need to come together as a group,” said Townsend. “To just go out there and not overthink it.”
The team’s current record is 17-3 overall and 3-1 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Northwestern would leave the Bulldogs in the dust in game two winning 7-1.
Next, the Bulldogs will host the Morningside Mustangs on Mar. 30, with the first pitch at 5 p.m. and the second game to start around 7 p.m.
