NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team took advantage of a six-run third inning to post a 7-5 victory over Butler on the final day of the Tiger Classic, hosted by Tennessee State.
The win cushioned the blow of a 5-4 extra-inning loss to Evansville in the nightcap, bringing NKU to 1-4 after the season's first weekend.
NKU 7, Butler 5 Alina Maher continued her torrid hitting to open the 2016 season with two hits, including a solo home run, and drove in three runs while
Dani Devlin added a pair of hits as well to help the Norse to a 7-5 win over Butler.
The Norse used a six-run third inning, pounding out four hits in the frame, to seal the game. After the Bulldogs (2-6) scored runs in each of the first two innings,
Zahrya McFarland opened things up with a double to the gap in right-center field. After
Hayley Curtis sacrificed McFarland to third base,
Sydney Ferrante was hit by a pitch before back-to-back walks to
Nicolette Hayes and
Kate Bartolovich plated NKU's first run.
With the bases loaded, Maher followed with an infield single to score Ferrante and Hayes, who deftly scored from second on the play. Devlin doubled home Bartolovich and sent Maher to third to set up an RBI-groundout by
Jordan Harbacek. Another infield single, this time by
Paige McQueen, scored Devlin and rounded out the inning for the Norse.
Maher added an insurance run in the fifth with a leadoff solo shot to left, her third in as many days, to make it a 7-3 game. Butler scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh and had the tying run on base with two outs, but pitcher
Charlie Nolen induced the ground out from Sarah Dixon to close out the win.
Nolen (1-2) scattered 12 hits and allowed four earned runs while picking up one strikeout in the complete game victory. The loss fell to Kaitlin Doud (0-3), who surrendered four runs on three hits, walked two and struck out two in 2.1 innings.
Maggie MacBeth and Alyssa Lach each had three hits for the Bulldogs, which combined for 12 hits on the game.
Evansville 5, NKU 4 (8 innings) NKU's offense again came through with a big inning, this time the third, as NKU took Evansville to extra innings in a 5-4 loss.
The Purple Aces (8-2) scored one run in the first and two more in the second before the Norse responded, again keyed by a leadoff double from McFarland. Curtis followed with a bunt single and Ferrante doubled both players in to cut the lead to 3-2.
Nicolette Hayes executed the squeeze bunt, getting a single in the process, to bring in Ferrante and tie the game.
Maher sacrificed herself to move Hayes into scoring position for Devlin, who drove a 2-0 pitch back up the box to score Hayes and give the Norse the lead at 4-3.
Evansville tied the game back up in the fifth inning when Hayli Scott doubled down the left-field line, scoring Kori Keyes, who came in as a pinch runner in the inning.
NKU got Devlin in scoring position in the sixth after she was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Harbacek executed the sacrifice, but Evansville's Morgan Florey got the strikeout to end the inning.
The game moved to the eighth inning with the international tiebreaker placing Scott as a runner on second to start the frame for Evansville. Cheatham singled on a bunt to put runners on the corners for Florey, who singled to centerfield to score Scott. Florey then retired the Norse in order in the bottom half to close out the contest.
Curtis led the Norse offensively with a pair of hits, a stolen base and a run scored. Michal Luckett's four-hit game paced the Evansville offense. Florey (4-0) gave up just one hit and struck out six in four innings of relief to take the win, while
Jordan Harbacek (0-1) surrendered a pair of earned runs on 12 hits and struck out four batters in an eight-inning complete game.
The Norse return home before venturing back to the Volunteer State next weekend to participate in the Frost Classic, hosted by Chattanooga. NKU will take on Eastern Illinois, Lipscomb, Miami (Ohio), Evansville and the host Mocs in the three-day tournament.
