Softball Goes 2-0 On Day Two Of The Music City Invitational

OVERVIEW – Ferris State & Maryville (Mo.)

SCORES: Northwood 13, Ferris State 2 / Northwood 3, Maryville 0

RECORDS: Northwood 2-0, Ferris State 0-2 / Northwood 3-0, Maryville 5-7

LOCATION: Music City Invitational - Smyrna, Tenn.

RECAP: Northwood softball continued its trip to the Music City Invitation Saturday (February 18). In game one The Timberwolves' offense exploded for 13 runs behind nine Ferris State walks. NU would beat FSU 13-2 in five innings. The Timberwolves would later blank the Saints, 3-0, in game two behind another gem from Hailey Leister.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Haley Frank led off the game with a triple in the first. Delanie Gale would follow her with her second double of the weekend, this time to left center, to give the Timberwolves the first lead of the day, 1-0 NU.
• Freshman Ashley Ziel would help NU extend the lead. Ziel's single to right brought home Gale to make it 2-0 NU in the first.
• The Bulldogs got a run back via a walk and two singles later in the first, 2-1 NU.
• The Timberwolves continued to apply pressure by being patient at the plate in the second. Karlie Moore (walk), Ashlyn Lundquist (single), and Frank (walk) started off the inning before Madison Jordan walked in a run, 3-1 NU,
• Steimel would keep the line moving as FSU issued another walk, forcing Lundquist to score from third, 4-1 NU.
• Gale's fielder's choice would score Frank from third. Another RBI single through the left side by Ziel would score Steimel, capping off Northwood's four-run second, 6-1 NU.
• Frank lit up the scoreboard with a three-run shot to left to start the third inning, 9-1 NU.
• Northwood continued their offensive explosion as two batters later., Steimel would triple home pinch runner Gabby Schloop, 10-1 NU. 
• Steimel would later score on an error on a pick-off attempt that went wide, 11-1 NU.
• Ferris State's ninth walk to Alyssa Gibson resulted in another NU run later in the third, 12-1 NU.
• FSU added one later in the third behind two singles, a stolen base, and an RBI groundout, 12-2 NU.
• Gale earned her third RBI of the night with a single to right, scoring Steimel in the fourth, 13-2 NU.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 13/11/1, Ferris State 2/4/2
• Runners left on base: Northwood 9, Ferris State 4
• Winning Pitcher – Brynn Polega (1-0) 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 3 K
• Losing Pitcher – Mckenzie Cleland (0-1) 1.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R (5 ER), 3 BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Frank: 2-3, HR, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB
• Ziel: 3-3, 2 RBI, R, BB
• Steimel: 2-3, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Gale: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
• Lundquist: 2-3, 2 R

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Similar to game one versus Ferris, Frank led off the game with a double for the Wolves. Steimel would then single up the middle to score Frank from second, giving Northwood the early 1-0 lead. 
• The Freshmen duo of Gale and Ziel continue to provide a spark for the Northwood offense. Gale's third double in as many games following Ziel's single scored Ziel from first, 2-0 NU.
• Madison Jordan plated Gale from second in the third, extending NU's lead to 3-0. 
• Game two turned out to be a tight one. Northwood went into the sixth up 3-0 before Hailey Leister struck out two of three, forcing Maryville to have one more chance in the seventh.
• Leister would finish the deal in the seventh as NU would win, 3-0.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 3/7/3, Maryville 0/2/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 3, Maryville 4
• Winning Pitcher: Hailey Leister (2-0) 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 7 K
• Losing Pitcher: Emerson Heron (4-4) 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 3 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Gale: 2-3, 2B, RBI, R
• Frank: 1-3, 2B, R
• Steimel: 1-3, RBI
• Jordan: 1-3, RBI
• Ziel: 1-3, R

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• In game one, Northwood won with its largest margin of victory (11) over Ferris State, dating back to 2011 (31 games played). Northwood has now won 10 in a row over Ferris dating back to April 27, 2019.
• Frank's home run in game one was the seventh of her career and the first for Northwood this season.
• Freshmen Gale, Lundquist, and Ziel combined to go 7-10, 2B, 5 RBI, 4 R, and a BB versus Ferris.
• Through two appearances Leister has combined for 14.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 20 K, and is sporting a .50 ERA.
• Leister pitched her sixth career complete game and third career shutout versus Maryville.

UP NEXT

• Softball will do battle with Parkside at 10 a.m. EST followed by Harding at 12 p.m. EST on Sunday (February 19).