LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Wesleyan softball team picked up a pair of much needed victories on Monday night as the Prairie Wolves swept the College of Saint Mary in a nonconference matchup. NWU won the first game, 6-3, then took the nightcap 4-2.
With their wins, the Prairie Wolves snapped their seven-game losing streak as they get back above .500 at 18-16 overall. The Flames fall below .500 at 16-18 on the season.
CSM jumped out on the Prairie Wolves quick, scoring three runs in the top of the 1
st inning. Jesse Briley then came in to pitch and did not allow the Flames to score the rest of the way. NWU got their bats going scoring one run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly from
Maddy Ethen.
The Prairie Wolves added another run in the 2
nd inning as NWU took advantage of two CSM errors. The biggest inning of the game came in the 4
th inning when the Prairie Wolves took the lead.
Nicole Vana had an RBI single, then
Jordan Arndt hit a big 2-run double in the left center gap to put the Prairie Wolves ahead 5-3. They added one more insurance run in the 6
th inning as Arndt hit an RBI single to drive in
Jade Mendoza.
Jesse Briley got the victory on the mound pitching the final 6 2/3 innings allowing just five hits and no runs with three strikeouts.
The Prairie Wolves finished the game with nine hits, with seven coming from the top three batters in the lineup.
Jordan Arndt was 3-4 with three RBI, while
Morgan Shipley also went 3-4.
Game two was controlled by Nebraska Wesleyan early with Briley taking the mound once again in the nightcap. NWU scored first getting a run in the bottom of the 1
st inning.
Nicole Vana led off with a single then came around to score on a single from
Maddy Ethen.
In the bottom of the 4
th inning, NWU extended their lead to 3-0. Briley blasted a double to the outfield fence then scored on a single over the first basemen's head by
Nicole Belfiore. She would come around to score on a single from Vana.
CSM finally got on the board in the top of the 5
th inning. The Prairie Wolves got the run right back in the bottom of the inning as
Destiny Indra drove in Arndt.
The Flames had a big threat in the top of the 6
th inning. They scored one run and had the bases loaded, but relief pitcher
LeighAnn Novotny came in to shut down the threat and earn the save.
Both teams finished the game with 10 hits. Vana led the Prairie Wolves going 3-4 with an RBI, while Arndt was 2-2 with a walk. Briley got her second win of the day pitching 5+ innings allowing two runs on eight hits. Novotny got her second save of the year throwing two scoreless innings.
