Ashley Gates is greeted by NKU head coach Kathy Stewart after hitting a solo home run to tie the game at 2-2 with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. NKU went on to take a 3-2 victory in 11 innings.
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ASHLAND, Ohio -
Ashley Gates' monster home run in the top of the seventh inning helped the Northern Kentucky University softball team pick up a 3-2 win over Lewis in an 11-inning marathon to open the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament.
NKU (35-18) advances to take on tournament host Ashland on Saturday in the winner's bracket of the tournament. First pitch is scheduled for noon. Ashland took an 8-4 victory over Tiffin in the first game of the day.
Gates went 4-for-5 in the game and drove in a pair of runs. Her offensive output began in the third inning when she laced an RBI-double to bring in
Stephanie West, who led off the inning with a single and took third on a two-base error by the right-fielder.
The run brought the game back level after Lewis (37-16) scored on a Michelle Vucsko RBI-single in the bottom of the first. The Flyers pulled ahead in the sixth on a Mary Giancarlo sacrifice fly after a pair of NKU errors loaded the bases.
Gates put the Norse back in the game with two outs in the top of the seventh inning by crushing a 1-2 pitch by Diana Pickrum over the left field wall, tying the game at 2-2 and forcing extra innings.
The home run gives Gates 10 long balls on the season and 22 for her career, pushing her ahead of
Rose Broderick (21) for NKU's career home run record.
Emily Schwaeble (11-1) settled down from that point on, retiring 12 of the final 13 batters she saw to pick up the victory, striking out four batters in 10 innings of work for the Norse.
April Ehlers pitched a perfect inning in the 11th to earn her third save of the season.
Schwaeble also went 2-for-6 at the plate, driving in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th inning with an infield single to plate
Jessica Farris, who singled to lead off the frame.
Sam Del Vecchio added a 2-for-5 performance.
Lewis will take on Tiffin in an elimination game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The winner of that game will take on the loser of the Ashland-NKU contest at 5 p.m. The tournament concludes with the championship series on Sunday.
