Thanks to Sandra Dinkel for the pictures

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Softball's Florida road trip continued this morning with another double-header, pitting the Vikings against the University of Southern Maine Huskies followed by the Washington College Shorewomen. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they walk away winless on the day despite two closely contested battles. 

Southern Maine 

A strong performance from SP Alyssa Malicki was not enough in Game 1 against Southern Maine, which finalized at a score of 1-3 in favor of the Huskies. The Vikings failed to get on base in their first trip through the order, but they would strike first in the 4^thinning to take a 1-0 lead after Eden Baker, Maddy Tan, and Emily Reczek strung together three singles. However, USM responded with 2 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a throwing error to establish a lead that held for the game's remainder.  

Washington College 

Game 2 against Washington College was as different as could be from Game 1, with the Vikings and the Shorewomen combining for 29 runs and 38 hits in a 14-15 slugfest. Again though, it was NPU receiving the loss.  

Washington College put 3 runs on the board in the top of the 1^st, opting for a small ball approach with 4 singles, 2 walks, and a sac fly. Conversely, the Vikings came back with 5 runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning in large part due to a grand slam from Reczek, picking up her 5^th RBI of the day with a shot to left-center. Before Reczek's bomb, Eden Baker scored on a passed ball after advancing to third on a bunt from Isa Santos.  

The Shorewomen responded with another run in the top of the 2^nd, but the Vikings' bats stayed hot, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the inning followed by 3 runs in both the 3^rd and 4^th. NPU's damage across that time was mostly dealt little-by-little as the Vikings chipped away with singles, though Kayla Lorenz marked a 2-RBI double and Kathryn Keehn smacked a solo shot—the first of her Vikings career.  

With North Park holding a 13-7 lead to start the 6^th inning, Washington rallied to the tune of 7 runs to establish their first advantage since the top of the 1^st. Costly mistakes from the Vikings' defense led to 3 unearned runs on 2 errors in the frame. North Park earned a run back in the bottom half to tie the score at 14 as Maddy Tan scored on a double by Alyssa Malicki. However, the Shorewomen had one more run left in them in the 7^th thanks to a single by Dee Raffaelli that scored pinch runner Maddy Kendall. NPU managed to get runners on first and second base with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7^th, but Washington's Brynn Balliet shut the door with a K to secure victory for the Shorewomen.  

Recap 

On a day where eight different Vikings recorded 2+ hits, it was Emily Reczek standing out with 5 hits, 6 RBI, and a grand slam in 8 ABs. Eden Baker was the only other player to record multiple hits in each contest, while Kathryn Keehn joined Reczek as the only Vikings with a HR. After going hitless in Game 1, Kayla Lorenz bounced back in Game 2 with 4 hits and 3 runs scored—both of which are tied with a slew of other Vikings as the second best single-game mark in NPU history. Alyssa Malicki was the Vikings' best performer on the mound across the two games, going 6.0 IP with 1 ER in Game 1. 

What's Next? 

The Vikings finish off their spring trip tomorrow with one final double-header before heading back to Chicago, facing off first with Simpson College followed by Loras for the second game. As with today's matchups, first pitch is slotted for 9:00 A.M. in Game 1 with a tentative 11:30 start time for Game 2.