LINCOLN, Neb. –
Morgan Shipley doubled over a drawn in defensive shift and
Nicole Vana beat out the throw to home plate with the game-winning run as Nebraska Wesleyan completed the 6-5 upset over #16 Central College in extra innings on Senior Day (April 25) at University Place Park. The Dutch were able to win game two, 8-5 as the teams split the Iowa Conference softball series.
Central College, who was leading the IIAC heading into Wednesday, got an RBI triple in the top of the 9
th inning to break open a 4-4 tie giving the Dutch the 5-4 advantage. In the bottom of the 9
th, the first two Prairie Wolves were retired as they were down to their final out.
Kennedy Greene was hit by a pitch, then
Nicole Vana singled to center field to put the winning run on base. That brought up
Morgan Shipley who was 0-3 on the day. Central put on a major shift with three infielders on the left side and the right fielder playing in the second base position. Shipley was able to lift the ball over the right fielders head and the race around the bases was on. Greene scored easily and Vana slid in to beat the relay throw tag as the Prairie Wolves celebration began.
The Dutch jumped ahead 2-0 early by scoring two runs in the top of the 1
st inning, but the Prairie Wolves responded. NWU, which had lost five in a row and seven of the last eight, got three hits in the bottom of the 1
st inning to take the lead with three runs.
Maddy Ethen drove in two runs by hitting a ball that glanced off the glove of the left fielder who was charging in and nearly ran into the shortstop. The third run of the inning was scored as
Kailey Meyer singled to right field and the outfielder mishandled the ball allowing
Katie Stanzel to score.
In the top of the 3
rd inning, Central was able to tie the game with a run on a double and single. Stanzel's RBI single in the bottom of the inning put NWU back up by one run.
From there, NWU only had three base runners the next five innings and didn't record a hit until the 9
th inning.
Jordan Arndt was 2-4 at the plate as the only NWU player with multiple hits.
Kailey Meyer got the victory on the mound pitching a total of 7 1/3 innings allowing 12 hits and five earned runs.
LeighAnn Novotny threw 1 2/3 innings of relief, entering in the 5
th inning.
NWU took the lead in game two getting a run in the bottom of the 2
nd inning. Stanzel and
Alycin Braun both singled and Stanzel scored on a fielder's choice by
Kayla Prai. Central tied the game in the top of the 3
rd, but NWU took the lead right back in the bottom of the inning.
Danelle Snyder singled and scored on a hit from Meyer. The Dutch then scored three runs in the 5
th inning and got four more in the 6
th to break the game open with a 8-3 advantage.
The Prairie Wolves had four straight hits to begin the bottom of the 6
th, including back-to-back doubles by Arndt and Snyder. A double play on a lineout ended the rally threat making the final score 8-5.
Three NWU players had multiple hits in the second game, led by
Kailey Meyer who was 3-4. Snyder and Braun were both 2-4, while
Nicole Vana was 1-2 with three walks. Novotny took the loss pitching 4 1/3 innings allowing two earned runs and seven hits.
With the victory, Nebraska Wesleyan moved to 19-17 overall and 6-8 in IIAC play to now sit in a tie for 5
th in the league standings. That puts the Prairie Wolves right in the mix for their first IIAC postseason tournament appearance with one doubleheader remaining. Central is now 24-8 and 9-3 in IIAC, falling to 3
rd in the conference.
