WAVERLY, Iowa (May 13, 2021) - The sixth-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan softball team (14-19) won its first two games and is undefeated in its pool at the 2021 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Softball Tournament. NWU defeated third-seeded Central College (18-13), 4-2, in game one then in game two, the Prairie Wolves defeated seventh-seeded Dubuque (23-18), 8-2.

Game One Recap
The Prairie Wolves took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second inning. A single from Rachel Mundt scored Valerie Gerlach for the first run of the game. Later in the inning, Alycin Braun turned a passed ball into the second run of the game. 

Central cut into the lead with a run in the bottom half of the second inning but Nebraska Wesleyan pushed its lead back to a two-run advantage in the fourth inning when Mundt cranked a home run to left-center field, Mundt's first home run of the season. 

The Dutch added a run in the sixth inning but NWU answered with an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Emma Alfieri plated Sydney Nickerson with a sacrifice fly for the final run of the game.

Kailey Meyer earned the complete-game win for the Prairie Wolves. Meyer gave up just one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts. Mundt and Nickerson each had multiple hits. It was also Mundt's first multiple-RBI game this season. 

Game Two Recap
Nebraska Wesleyan continued to stay hot with eight runs in game two, including three runs in the first inning. The Prairie Wolves got on the board when an error allowed Taylor Styskal to reach base, which also scored Hanna Roth. Styskal was plated on a Valerie Gerlach single. Gerlach then turned another Spartan error into an NWU score.

Nebraska Wesleyan's offense wasn't done as it added two more runs in the second inning. An RBI double from Roth scored Sydney Nickerson for the inning's first run. A two-out RBI single from Styskal then scored Roth to make it a 5-0 lead.

Dubuque added a run in the fourth but NWU answered with three runs in the fifth inning. All three runs scored on a double from Sydney Nickerson. UD put up another run in the seventh inning but the Prairie Wolves turned them away by forcing a groundout in the next at-bat.

Kailey Meyer picked up the win for Nebraska Wesleyan. Meyer went the distance for the second straight game, surrendering just two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts. The complete game is Meyer's 15th of the season. 

What's Next
Nebraska Wesleyan plays the winner of the Central College and University of Dubuque elimination game. NWU's game will start at approximately 12 p.m. in Waverly, Iowa.