LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska Wesleyan earned their first win of the 2015 season as they opened Great Plains Athletic Conference play with a 5-2 victory over Northwestern College in the home softball opener on Saturday afternoon (Mar. 21) at University Place Park.  The Red Raiders came back to shutout the Prairie Wolves 6-0 in game two.

With the victory, the Prairie Wolves snapped their 15-game losing streak that dated back to the 2014 season.

NWU (1-9) scored four runs in the bottom of the 5th inning to overcome a 2-1 deficit then held on for the win.  The Prairie Wolves led 1-0 early as they got a run in the first.  Brittany Gentry singled, stole second base advanced on an out then scored on a passed ball.

That was the lone score of the game until the top of the 4th inning.  Northwestern got a double and walk to start the inning.  A hard hit ball to the shortstop took a bad bounce off the fielders' glove allowing two runs to score giving the Red Raiders a 2-1 advantage.

NWU got their offense going in the bottom of the 5th. Five straight singles allowed the Prairie Wolves to plate four runs in the inning.  Nicole Vana drove in two of the runs with a hit.  Rachel Kubik scored on a passed ball and Vana scored on a passed ball.

No more runs were scored in the game as NWU pitcher Marisa Garver had control.  Garver got the complete game victory giving up just four hits with four strikeouts.  Both runs were unearned.

Brittany Gentry was 3-3 at the plate to lead the NWU offense.  The Prairie Wolves finished with seven total hits, all by the top five batters in the order.

Game two was dominated by the Red Raiders as the Prairie Wolves committed more errors than they got hits.  NWU had five total errors in the game and recorded only two hits.

Neither team scored until the 4th inning when Kara Nonnemacher hit a solo home run.  The Red Raiders added four runs in the 5th inning.  Kayla Tindall and Jessica Rayela each had 2-run singles to drive in the runs.

Tindall shut down the Prairie Wolves allowing just two hits in the complete game shutout win.  She struck out four batters and walked two.  Megan Cottier fell to 0-5 on the year for NWU allowing five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Jordan Arndt and Madison Ethen had the two singles for NWU.