ST. PAUL-- The Wartburg softball team needed extra innings to win the first elimination game Friday afternoon, as it defeated Northwestern-St. Paul 6-4 in nine innings. The Knights then faced No. 25 UW-Eau Claire later that evening.
The Orange and Black compiled a two-run rally in their last at-bats as freshman Grace Petersen (Joliet, Ill.) drove in classmate Sydney Illg (Grimes) and sophomore Leah Campos (Diamond, Ill.) on her single to right with two outs. Unfortunately, the next batter was called out on strikes to end the comeback.
The Blugolds took the 2-0 lead in the second and added another run in the third.
Campos scored on senior Liz Roby-Miklus' (Ankeny) sac fly in the sixth to make it 3-1.
Campos and Roby-Miklus each went 2-3 in the final game.
Click here for the
photo gallery against UW-Eau Claire.
Post Game Press Conference
In the first game of the day against Northwestern, the Eagles took the 3-0 lead in the first and added another in the second. In the fourth, freshman Sydney Illg (Grimes) hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on classmate's Olivia Brecht (Center Point) fielder's choice to put Wartburg on the scoreboard.
The Knights tallied two in the sixth to make it a one-run game. In the top of the seventh, Roby-Miklus hit a leadoff single, moved to second on senior Kailee O'Brien's (Altoona) single, advanced to third on Illg's single to right and scored on Campos' ground out to even the score at four all.
In the bottom of the frame, the Eagles had runners at second and third with one out. Sophomore Maddie Rog (Norridge, Ill.) fanned the next batter and then caught the shallow popup to send it into extra innings.
In the top of the ninth, Roby-Miklus reached on her bunt, moved to second as Illg was hit by pitch, and scored on a UNW fielding error. Illg scored as the Eagles chose to go after freshman Jenna Levine (DeKalb, Ill.) in the rundown in the double steal attempt.
Click here for the
photo gallery against Northwestern.
New NCAA Tournament game records were set with the team's four doubles and two stolen bases. The double total bested the previous mark of three set three times and most recently against WashU on May 9, 2009. The two stolen bases tied the mark previously set against St. Scholastica on May 13, 2006.
This was the first extra inning game in Wartburg's appearances in the NCAA Tournament since May 10, 2008. The 12 hits were two shy of the record of 14 set against Webster on May 11, 2007.
For their efforts on the week, O'Brien and Rog were named to the All-Tournament team at the St. Thomas Regional.
Wartburg ended the season 27-13.
