Mandi McQueen gives the Norse the lead for good with a solo home run in the sixth inning against Bellarmine.
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EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Four home runs from the Northern Kentucky University softball team powered a 7-5, come-from-behind victory over Bellarmine in an elimination game at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
The Norse (35-18) advance to another elimination game, this time against Illinois Springfield, which defeated Quincy, 6-5. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern.
The teams split their regular-season doubleheader, with each team picking up shutouts in the process. NKU claimed a 2-0 victory in the opener, while UIS came back with an 11-0 win to salvage the split.
Walks haunted NKU, as Bellarmine (32-27) struck out to a 5-0 lead powered by two-run home runs powered by earlier bases on balls. Erin Sireno got the Knights on the board in the second inning and Megan Murdoch added on in the third inning. Lauren Summe added an RBI-single in the fourth to increase the lead.
The comeback for the Norse came in the fourth inning as
Kaylin Steinmetz led off an inning with a home run for the second time in the tournament, sending a towering fly ball over the right-center field wall for her 22nd home run of the season.
Back-to-back singles from
Emily Schwaeble and
Mandi McQueen set the table for
Natalie Papi, who launched her fourth home run of the year deep to left-center field. The home run pulled NKU within one at 5-4 and chased Bellarmine starting pitcher Alicia Miller.
Katelyn Roy would tie things up later in the inning with her third home run of the season deep to left center field off Bellarmine reliever Amanda Meyer.
McQueen got the second of her two hits in the sixth inning with a leadoff blast to right field for her fourth homer of the year to give the Norse the lead. After an error on a
Dee Dee Davis pop-up extended the inning,
Michelle Carson dropped an RBI-single over the extended glove of the Bellarmine shortstop for a key insurance run.
Bellarmine got their chance to retake the lead in the seventh inning when NKU pitcher
Alex Caudill threw back-to-back walks to put Murdoch and Madi Ratliff on base, but the freshman was able to induce a groundout from Bellarmine's Hannah Daunhauer to end the game.
Caudill (14-11) pitched four innings of relief, surrendering only an unearned run on two hits to claim the win.
