WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg College belted out three home runs and had nine total extra base hits as the Knights swept Nebraska Wesleyan in an Iowa Conference softball doubleheader on Monday (April 17) at Lynes Field in Waverly, Iowa. Wartburg won game one, 9-1, then took the second game 12-4. Both games were finished in six innings due to the run rule.
The Knights (19-11, 7-3) jumped out quick on the Prairie Wolves in game one scoring three runs in the bottom of the 1
st inning. They extended the lead to 4-0 with another run in the bottom of the 2
nd innings.
NWU (16-14, 3-7 IIAC) got on the board in the top of the 5
th inning.
Kennedy Greene reached base on an error, then scored on an RBI single from
Nicole Vana. That is the only run that the Prairie Wolves could score in the opening game.
Wartburg added one run in the 5
th inning, then closed the game by scoring four runs in the bottom of the 6
th with four hits in the inning.
Nebraska Wesleyan ended the game with five hits, all singles, by five different players. Wartburg had 13 hits with two doubles and a home run.
LeighAnn Novotny took the loss allowing eight earned runs and 13 hits in 5 1/3 innings.
In game two, the Prairie Wolves fell behind 3-0 after two innings of play and trailed 5-1 after three innings.
The Prairie Wolves mounted a comeback in the top of the 4
th inning.
Maddy Ethen and
Nicole Belfiore both singled, then
Claire Poppe hit her first home run of the season with a 3-run blast to make the score 5-4.
Wartburg responded with two runs in the 4
th on a double and a triple to extend the lead back to 7-4.
Five straight hits occurred in the bottom of the 6
th inning, including a 3-run HR that ended the game for the Knights.
NWU had six hits in the second game, led by
Maddy Ethen who was 2-3 with a double.
Danelle Snyder added a double to go along with Poppe's HR as the extra base hits. Poppe took the loss on the mound allowing four earned runs with four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of work.
Nebraska Wesleyan will look to snap their current five-game conference losing streak right away on Tuesday as they will travel to Storm Lake, Iowa to face Buena Vista University.
