CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team dropped a pair of contests to open the Frost Classic on Friday, falling to Eastern Illinois, 9-1, and to Lipscomb, 10-1.
With the losses, NKU falls to 1-6 on the season.
Eastern Illinois 9, NKU 1 (5 innings) Dani Devlin and
Kate Bartolovich each rapped doubles for the Norse, but an eight-run second inning for the Panthers made the difference in the contest.
Katie Watson opened her 2-for-2 day with a solo home run to get the scoring started for Eastern Illinois (4-7) in the top of the first inning. The Panthers then took advantage of three Norse errors to plate eight runs in the second inning, pushing the lead to 9-0.
Bartolovich led off the bottom of the second inning with a double to the wall in right field, her first two-bagger of the year, and got to third on a
Jordan Harbacek groundout before scoring on an illegal pitch.
Zahrya McFarland and
Hayley Curtis also picked up back-to-back singles, loading the bases behind a
Paige McQueen walk, but a fly out to right ended NKU's rally threat.
Pitching took over from there, as NKU reliever
Charlie Nolen gave up just a single hit and struck out two in the game's final three innings, but the Norse could not get the offense going as the game ended after five innings.
Michelle Rogers (1-1) got the victory in the circle for Eastern Illinois, scattering four hits and striking out five batters on the day.
Ashlynn Roberts (0-2) took the loss for the Norse.
Lipscomb 10, NKU 1 (5 innings) Kasey Gibson and Abby Fenichel each picked up two hits for Lipscomb (5-6) as the Lady Bisons put together big innings to take a 10-1 win over NKU in the nightcap.
McQueen drove in NKU's run as the Norse picked up four hits on the game.
Lipscomb got the scoring started in the first inning, as Fenichel placed a double in the gap in left-center field to score Brittney Elmore, who walked to lead off the inning. Fenichel would later score on an error to make it a 2-0 game.
Lipscomb scored three more runs in the third inning before Sarah Higgins punctuated a five-run fourth inning with a three-run homer, making it a 10-0 Lady Bisons lead.
Alina Maher drew a walk to lead off the fifth inning before back-to-back singles by
Kara Meter and McQueen brought the sophomore home, but NKU was held there offensively as Lipscomb took the victory.
Kelly Young got the win in the circle for Lipscomb, striking out eight batters and giving up one run on four hits. The loss fell to
Jordan Harbacek for the Norse.
NKU will look to rebound on Day 2 of the Frost Classic, as the Norse take on Miami (Ohio) in an 11 a.m. contest, followed by a 1:30 p.m. first pitch against Evansville.
