CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park Softball honored the careers of seniors Katie Creager, Brigid Early, Emily Reczek, and Alyssa Malicki before today's double-header with the Illinois Wesleyan Titans. To celebrate, the team gifted their senior class with one last run as Vikings by punching their ticket to the CCIW Tournament with a 6-3 win in Game 1. Although NPU went on to lose Game 2 to close their regular season, the 2023 Vikings will be remembered as the program's most successful team to date, setting a record with nine conference wins and earning the chance to further history with a possible CCIW playoff victory.
Game 1
The Vikings jumped out to an early 3-0 lead through the first two innings of Game 1, sparked by a 1st inning double off the bat of Alyssa Malicki which scored Eden Baker and Emily Reczek. Brigid Early then gave North Park some added insurance in the 2nd after stealing home on a wild pitch.
NPU's bats went quiet in the 3rd, but they bounced back in the next inning to double their lead up to a score of 6-0. Brigid Early got on base with a walk and HBP, respectively, setting up Eden Baker with runners on first and second. She came through with a bases-clearing triple, later scoring on a single by Kathryn Keehn.
Those would be the last runs the Vikings scored in Game 1. The Titans rallied in the 5th to cut the NPU lead in half at 6-3, but SP Maya Lafnear shut them down in the final two innings to solidify the Vikings' playoff spot and earn herself a complete game. Her final line as the winning pitcher read 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, and 1 K.
Seniors Emily Reczek and Alyssa Malicki both had multi-hit efforts, combining for four of the team's six total hits. Malicki and Eden Baker led the team with 2 RBI each, and the pair also marked the only XBH in Game 1 for either team.
Game 2
With the wind and rain picking up for the second game, a high-scoring affair would be carried out as the Titans won by a score of 4-10. The Vikings did take the first lead of the game with a 1st inning base hit by Emily Reczek to score Kayla Lorenz, but that was the only point at which NPU led in Game 2.
Outside of Reczek—who had another multi-hit effort to make her 4-8 on the day—Eden Baker, Malicki, and Katie Patton drove in North Park's other three runs in Game 2. Patton's came by way of a solo HR to mark the catcher's second homer of her career. Beyond that, a double by Kayla Lorenz which eventually earned the team their first run was NPU's only other XBH in the loss.
What's Next?
With the Vikings' 2023 regular season now complete with a record of 17-20-1 (9-7 CCIW), the team has May 11th to look forward to when Round 1 of the CCIW Tournament gets underway. Seeding is yet to be determined, as four more CCIW series remain; Millikin at Carthage (May 3), Millikin at Carroll (May 4), Elmhurst at Millikin (May 6), and Augustana at Illinois Wesleyan (May 6).
