STORM LAKE, Iowa— A big first inning for the Wartburg College Knights softball squad sees them advancing to the semifinals of the American Rivers Conference Softball tournament. The No. 4-seeded Knights defeated the No. 5 seeded Luther, 9-2.  
 
The Knights (25-12) will face the No. 1-seeded Buena Vista (26-12) at 11 a.m. on May 7.
 
Game Recap
 
Back-to-back hit by pitches saw the Knights load the bases in the bottom of the first. Lauren Frerichs (3-of-4) recorded the first hit of the game for the Orange & Black, a 2 RBI single as Olivia Brecht and Ella Link scored. Tarah Wehde (1-of-4) and Jenna Levine (1-of-3) hit singles, as Levine hit a 2 RBI single for a 4-0 lead from Wartburg.
 
Ashley Nelson, pitching her fifth complete game, took care of work in the pitcher's circle, allowing three hits and one run in the first four innings.
 
The Knights offense kept going, recording a hit every inning except the fifth. Frerichs hit her fourth triple of the season to lead off the third for the Knights. Wehde reached on a fielder's choice as Freirchs scored the fifth run of the game for the Knights.
 
The Norse added a second run in the fifth, trimming the Knights lead to three at 5-2. Kendra Cooper, who started in the circle for the Norse, struck out two of the three Knights batters in the fifth for a quick offensive inning.
 
A walk and two singles loaded the bases for the Orange & Black early in the sixth. Link (1-of-3) hit a 3 RBI triple to center field as the Knights jumped out to an 8-2 lead. Link brought the final run of the game home on an RBI single from Frerichs.
 
Glancing at Buena Vista
 
The Beavers, who earned the top seed in the tournament, swept the Knights last weekend in Waverly.
 
Carlee Guyett (.425 average) leads the Beavers in at bats (127), runs (36), and walks (22). Ashtyn Miller is a dual threat with a .331 average and 21 runs scored this season while boasting a 2.16 ERA and 113 strikeouts to lead the Beavers pitching efforts.
 
Chloe Wells (.385 average, 33 runs) and Nataliah Murillo (.402 average, 49 hits, 33 RBIs) also lead the Beavers offense. Overall, the Beavers have a .306 average, with an on-base percentage of .367.
 
Eyes on the Records
 
Illg sits at 140 career runs scored, passing Ashley Steines, to land at third for most runs scored.
The school record is set at 143 by Ashley Rogers. Illg moved into No. 4 in the career home runs, sitting at 23 homers, and sits at No. 7 in RBIs with 99.
 
Springer moved up the career record book, joining a tie for fifth in stolen bases (45). Springer sits at No. 2 with 42 stolen bases in a season, only six off Liz Roby-Miklus's 51 stolen bases in 2019.
 
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