Bearcats virtually lock postseason bid with Thursday split

By Phil Cobb | April 23, 2015 |

DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Northwest sophomore second baseman Torri Blythe celebrates after scoring on a two-run double off the bat of freshman shortstop Rebecca Maher in the first game of a split Thursday against No. 20 Emporia State.

The tying run stood on second base with two outs in the seventh. Ryan Anderson sauntered hesitantly to the mound, likely with an array of scenarios racing through his mind.

It’s a stressful feeling the Northwest softball skipper won’t have to deal with for a few days, thanks to junior pitcher Kendle Schieber holding that run at second to preserve a 2-1 victory over No. 20 Emporia State Thursday. With just two games left in MIAA play, the Bearcats have virtually locked a spot in the conference tournament after entering the doubleheader with the Hornets tied for fifth in the league.

Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney, which sit two games and three games behind the Bearcats in the standings, respectively, play an MIAA doubleheader Friday.

“Really, I think we sit far enough ahead that even if Kearney sweeps or Hays sweeps, it knocks the other one out and going into today, it was us, Emporia, Washburn all tied for fifth,” Anderson said. “Really, we needed one win and we were in.”

Although Northwest (22-22, 14-10) hasn’t mathematically clinched, a litany of things would have to go wrong to prevent the Bearcats from entering the postseason.

But despite falling in the good graces of the league standings, Anderson remained unimpressed with his team’s offensive output in the split with Emporia, taking a 4-3, nine-inning loss in game one before bouncing back for the 2-1 win in the nightcap.

“We gave away the first game,” Anderson said. “We had a chance to win. It shouldn’t have got to the ninth inning, but when you’re not going to hit, you’re not going to hit.”

Northwest junior starter Sarah Baldwin started the day by whittling through the Emporia State lineup for the first four innings of game one.

She faced the minimum through four innings, picking up a double play in the second frame and striking out the side in the third. The Hornets finally picked up their first hit of the contest in the top of the fourth on a knock from designated hitter Danielle Sprinkle up the middle.

However, Emporia State starter Kaitlyn Caston matched Baldwin’s initial success, working around a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the second to keep the Bearcats off the board.

The Hornets broke through on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on a walk from Caston and back-to-back singles from catcher Jacie Stephens and third baseman Jessica Gragg to bring their starting pitcher home from second for the first run of the day. Baldwin plunked center fielder Stephanie Goodwin with the bases full and two away, bringing home Stephens for a 2-0 lead.

Despite Baldwin finally relinquishing her brilliant beginning, Northwest’s offense came alive in the following frame. Freshman designated hitter Abigail Gilson powered a double into right field and sophomore second baseman Torri Blythe beat out an infield single to third. Sophomore center fielder Cassidy Lee singled to left to fill the sacks with one away before freshman shortstop Rebecca Maher knotted the tally at 2-2 by flipping an outside pitch into right-center, scoring Gilson and Blythe.

In the bottom of the sixth, Northwest captured its first lead of the contest on a double that crept just inside the left-field line from junior left fielder Kendle Schieber to score sophomore third baseman Chantel Adams, who walked to open the inning.

But, Baldwin was unable to slam the door in the top of the seventh. Left fielder Hannah Weingartner lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring pinch-runner Cassidy Berry to force extras. Then in the top of the ninth, Weingartner crushed a game-winning homer down the left-field line before Caston closed things down.

“We have the bats to come back and hit, and we didn’t,” Anderson said.

Game two started with a strange sequence for Schieber, as she quickly walked the leadoff hitter, Goodwin. Right fielder Caitlin VanVleck then rocketed a double to right field before Blythe bobbled the ball on the infield to allow Goodwin to score an unearned run against Schieber.

It was the only run Schieber (9-6) would allow in her seven innings of labor, giving up just three hits and two walks while ringing up eight Hornets.

Emporia failed to pick up another hit until the top of the sixth on a double to left field from Goodwin. Schieber leaned on an ability to rifle fastballs on the inner half of the plate most of the afternoon.

“That first batter she walked and the pitches weren’t even close; it wasn’t like her,” Anderson said. “ … She threw well and she locked up their hitters, worked them in, both sides of the plate.”

The Bearcats responded to Emporia’s early lead in the bottom of the first with two-out production in the heart of the order. Maher spanked a double into right-center that VanVleck had issues handling before senior first baseman Stephanie Mark blistered a two-run homer, her 12th of the year, over the left-field wall for the final 2-1 lead.

With the bases loaded and two away in the bottom of the third, Northwest had an opportunity to build on its lead. But to Anderson’s dismay, sophomore right fielder Baylee Scarbrough lifted a harmless fly to left, ending the threat.

“We have to want to be aggressive at the plate,” Anderson said. “Right now, we’re just looking at pitches. We’re taking strikes. We’re three pitches in and we haven’t swung the bat. We have to be ready to swing, because when we get two strikes, we don’t look like the same hitting team … That’s something we have to make the adjustment of.”

The final chance for the Hornets came with a two-out double from Gragg in the top of the seventh, a bloop hit that a diving Lee came up just shy of snaring. But after Anderson’s quick meeting with Schieber on the mound, Weingartner swung through a full-count fastball on the outer edge to end the contest and vault the Bearcats to a safer route to the tournament.

“Knowing that, realistically, we’re in (feels good),” Anderson said. “However, when you look at the first game, we gave it away … That’s what was frustrating today. Sarah threw well. Kendle threw well. We’ve got to score runs for them.”

Though the MIAA Tournament is the eventual focus, Northwest rounds out its season with a doubleheader against Washburn beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday that could affect seeding.

DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Freshman designated hitter Abigail Gilson rotates her hips to hack at an inside pitch from No. 20 Emporia State’s Kaitlyn Caston during a 4-3, extra-inning loss for the Bearcats in game one Thursday afternoon.

DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Bearcats sophomore center fielder Cassidy Lee moves to the front of the box while swinging at a pitch during game one of a split against No. 20 Emporia State Thursday afternoon. Northwest fell, 4-3, in game one before grabbing a 2-1 win in game two.

DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Junior starter Sarah Baldwin brings home a pitch against No. 20 Emporia State in a 4-3, nine-inning loss during game one. Baldwin tossed all nine innings for the Bearcats, suffering a tough-luck loss.