Northwest opens season 1-3
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The Northwest softball team opened the 2015 season with a win before losing its final three games of the season-opening Arkansas-Monticello 8-State Classic.
The Bearcats won their first game Friday, Feb. 13 over Southern Arkansas, 12-4 and then took Arkansas Tech to extra innings, but ended up on the losing side, 8-6.
Against Southern Arkansas, Northwest tallied 17 hits and eight of the nine starters had at least one base knock.
Junior Sarah Baldwin struck out six while walking two and allowing six hits in a complete-game victory.
Northwest scored in five different innings as senior first baseman Stephanie Mark went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in. Sophomore third baseman Chantel Adams also drove in a pair of runs and freshman shortstop Rebecca Maher drove in three runs.
In the second game of day one, Northwest jumped out to an early lead and Mark’s three-run home run in the third inning put the Bearcats back up 4-2. Sophomore Baylee Scarbrough pushed the lead to 5-3 in the fifth inning, but Northwest couldn’t hold on.
Arkansas Tech scored two in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Kambri Hill hit a two-run walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Golden Suns the victory.
Senior Abbie Vitosh started in the circle, throwing 4.2 innings before giving way to senior Paige Blythe in the fifth inning. Blythe pitched the final 3.2 innings and was charged with the loss.
On day two, Northwest dropped two tight contests, losing 7-6 to East Central and 3-1 to Illinois-Springfield to finish the opening weekend 1-3 after the third day of the tournament was canceled due to inclement weather in the forecast.
Following sophomore second baseman Torri Blythe’s leadoff single to center — her third in as many games, Maher moved her to third on a double to deep right field. Mark drove in Blythe with a sacrifice fly and Maher scored on a wild pitch two batters later, giving the Bearcats an early 2-0 lead.
After East Central closed the gap to 4-3 in fifth, the Bearcats extended the lead in their next turn at bat. Freshman catcher Jessica Rawie opened the inning with a walk and moved to second two batters later on Torri Blythe’s single. Maher’s third double of the day drove them both in, giving Northwest a 6-3 advantage.
East Central tied the game at six in the sixth inning on a three-run homerun to left center and walked off in the seventh with a bases loaded infield single.
Maher finished the day 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI while Mark drove in two and recorded her third extra-base hit of the young season.
Baldwin threw five innings, striking out six and walking four, surrendering six runs on eight hits. Paige Blythe came in to relieve Baldwin, throwing the final 1.2 innings, and was again charged with the loss.
In the second game of the day, junior Kendle Schieber made her first start for Northwest, striking out four and walking just one in a complete-game, six-hit effort.
Illinois-Springfield grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first after a leadoff walk came around to score.
Mark came around to score Northwest’s lone run in the fourth before the Prairie Stars went up in the sixth and added an insurance run in the seventh.
Northwest heads to Pittsburg, Kansas this weekend to take part in the Pitt State Classic, taking on Arkansas Tech and Rockhurst on both Saturday and Sunday at noon and 2 p.m. each day.
