KENOSHA, Wis. -- Vikings Softball made history on Wednesday afternoon with their 7thconference win of the season, breaking the previous record set by the 2013 and 2016 Vikings squads. NPU surpassed the old mark after Game 1 of their double-header with the Carthage Firebirds, which they won by a score of 4-3. North Park went on to lose Game 2, but with a conference record of 7-5, the 2023 Vikings will go down in the record books as the winningest in-conference team across the program's 19-year tenure.
Game 1
Registering just one hit in their first time through the order, North Park found themselves trailing 0-1 after three innings in Game 1. A single by Alyssa Malicki in the 4th drove in Kayla Lorenz to tie the game up, but Carthage responded in the bottom half of the inning to take back their one-run lead.
The Vikings continued their momentum in the 5th after Brigid Early and Isa Santos sparked a late rally with a pair of walks. A grounder by Eden Baker moved the two into scoring position, and Kathryn Keehn followed that up with a clutch two-out double to give NPU control of the lead. Kayla Lorenz then singled to center field to drive in Keehn, giving Maya Lafnear insurance on the mound with the score at 4-2.
The Firebirds managed one more run in the bottom of the 5th, but Lafnear would shut them down in the 6th and 7th innings to secure the Vikings' record-setting win. In what was a bounce back performance from the freshman pitcher after yesterday's loss to Elmhurst, her final line read 7.0 IP, 8 H, 0 BB, and 2 ER as the winning pitcher in Game 1.
Kathryn Keehn picked up her third multi-hit game in a row in the victory, adding 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Alongside her as the only other Viking with multiple hits in Game 1, Kayla Lorenz put up a 2-for-3 effort in which she scored the team's first run and drove in the eventual game winning run.
Game 2
North Park's bats went quiet in the second half of the set with Carthage, losing by a score of 1-6 after getting shutout through the game's first five frames. The Vikings' lone run came on a first-and-third double steal where Keehn sacrificed herself on the basepaths so that Isa Santos could cross the plate.
Emily Reczek joined Keehn and Lorenz with a multi-hit performance, going 2-3 with a pair of singles in Game 2.
What's Next?
North Park next takes the field on Friday, April 28th when they head to Rock Island to take on the Vikings of Augustana College. Game 1 of the double-header is set to start at 3:00 P.M. in what will be a makeup of their postponed contest from April 16th.
