Pictures thanks to Eddie Faican
CHICAGO, Ill. --Â North Park softball dropped a three-game series to UW-River Falls this weekend before ending the NPU Round Robin with a rout of Loras, 9-1, on Sunday afternoon.
The Vikings would short-game the Duhawks, only playing five innings, but a 75-minute weather delay put a temporary halt in the action. Before that delay, Eden Baker singled and moved to third on a bunt single by Isa Santos. Baker scored on a passed ball, which moved Santos to second, and a fly out by Kayla Lorenz put her on third. Emily Reczek, who posted some big offensive numbers this weekend, executed a perfect squeeze bunt, bringing Santos home for the second run of the inning. Maddy Tan then hit into a fielder's choice before scoring on Kathryn Keehn's RBI double to end the Vikings' three-run first inning.
North Park added another run in the second on an RBI single by Baker, scoring Katie Patton who reached on a single to center field to lead off the inning.Â
Meanwhile, in her return to the circle, Alyssa Malicki picked up where she left off, sitting down the first nine Duhawk batters in order. However, the weather delay put a pause in the action heading to the bottom of the third inning.
Following the delay, Reczek reached on an infield single before moving to third on Tan's double to right field. Next, Keehn cracked her second double of the game, sending both Tan and Reczek home.Â
In the top of the fourth, the Duhawks showed some brief offensive competence against Malicki, when Jones doubled down the left field line before scoring on Houghton's single into center.
After the only scoreless frame for North Park – in the bottom of the fourth – and another scoreless inning of work for Malicki in the top of the fifth, the Vikings held a 6-1 lead moving to the bottom of the fifth.
Malicki started the inning by getting plunked with the first pitch before Kayla Sapolu drew a walk. Next, Santos dropped down a bunt for a hit to load the bases. Lorenz chopped a grounder to third, where the Duhawks tagged Malicki before sailing a throw up the first base line. The errant throw allowed Sapolu to score and put both runners into scoring position for Reczek. With two outs, Reczek smacked the first pitch she saw to the right field fence, securing the short-game win in walkoff fashion.
Quick Hits:
- Reczek goes 6-for-12 on the weekend with two doubles, a homer, and six RBI
- Malicki pitches all five innings, fanning four, while only allowing three hits and a run
- Baker, Santos, Reczek, Tan, and Keehn all had a multi-hit game against the Duhawks
- Baker goes 3-for-4 with a triple against River Falls on Sunday
What's Next?
North Park (4-9-1) continues a non-conference stretch with an away doubleheader against Benedictine (7-3) on Wednesday, March 29. First pitch at Benedictine Softball Field is set for 3:00 PM.
