Ashley Gates connects for a home run against Malone on Thursday.
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Game 1 box score |
Game 2 box score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Malone on Thursday afternoon.
NKU won the first game, 4-0, but Malone bounced back to take a 5-3 decision in the nightcap. The loss in the second game snapped the Norse's winning streak at five.
In the opener, NKU's
April Ehlers (9-4) tossed a one-hitter and struck out 12 batters en route to her fourth shutout of the season. Ehlers now has 807 career strikeouts and is closing in on the Norse record of 836, held by Krystal Lewallen.
NKU scored three times in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead.
Mandi McQueen singled with one out and scored the game's first run when
Emily Schwaeble doubled to left-center field.
Ashley Gates then stepped to the plate and blasted a mammoth home run to left-center field to extend the lead to 3-0.
Gates now has six home runs this season and is NKU's all-time career leader in that category with 28.
NKU added an insurance run in the fourth inning when
Jessica Farris lined a triple to left-center field that drove in
Rachael May. The Norse finished with five hits in the contest.
In the nightcap, Malone snapped a 3-all tie in the top of the seventh inning by plating a pair of runs to pull out a 5-3 win. Laura Ronk's two-run double with two outs gave Malone the lead, and pitcher Shelby Snyder retired NKU in order in the bottom of the seventh.
NKU jumped out to a 2-0 lead with two runs in the first, but Malone scored three times in the fifth to take a 3-2 advantage. It remained that way until the sixth, when Schwaeble hit a solo home run to tie the game at 3-all.
McQueen finished with two hits in the nightcap for NKU, which is 21-10 overall. Malone is 11-12 overall.
NKU resumes Great Lakes Valley Conference play Sunday with a doubleheader at Bellarmine. The Norse are currently 11-2 in the GLVC.
