WAUKESHA, Wis. -- The Vikings softball team traveled up north to face the Carroll Pioneers on Saturday afternoon for a CCIW double-header, losing Game 1 at a score of 2-4 before winning their second matchup in shutout fashion at 3-0. The split moves the Vikings to 11-14-1 overall and 3-1 in the CCIW, good for third place to this point in the conference season.  

Game 1 

Carroll chipped away at North Park in Game 1, bringing one run across home plate in four of the first five innings. The Vikings' bats responded in the 4^th and 5^th though under the lead of freshmen Kathryn Keehn and Katie Patton. Keehn—who had doubled earlier in the ballgame—slapped an infield single in the 4^th to score Kayla Lorenz and earn NPU their first run of the day. Following that up in the 5^th, Patton belted a ball to dead center to notch the first HR of her North Park career. She marks the seventh different Viking to homer in the 2023 season, setting a new record for the softball program. 

North Park's offense slowed to a halt after scoring in back-to-back innings, winding to a final score of 2-4. Keehn was the only Viking to record a multi-hit game, while her and Patton accounted for the team's two XBH.  

Game 2 

In Game 2, SP Alyssa Malicki shut down the Pioneers' offense for a CGSO to lead the Vikings to a 3-0 victory. Malicki allowed just 4 H and 1 BB over 7.0 innings of work, adding a strikeout along the way. 

Despite Malicki's dominant outing, North Park found themselves in a 0-0 tie heading into the game's late stages as Carroll's Grace Bradley put up a strong starting effort of her own. The Vikings would get to her and the Carroll defense in the 6^th, however, putting up all three of their runs. Eden Baker started things off by reaching second on an error, and consecutive bunts by Isa Santos and Kayla Lorenz scored Baker to put NPU on the board at 1-0. A few batters later, Kathryn Keehn again came through with a base hit that brought Malicki and Lorenz home to reach the 3-0 mark that went final.  

Again for North Park, Kathryn Keehn recorded a multi-hit game to bring her total to four hits on the day. Kayla Lorenz had a double for NPU's lone XBH of Game 2, and Lorenz, Isa Santos, and Alyssa Malicki all had sacrifice hits as well.  

What's Next? 

The Vikings next take the field on Thursday, April 13^th when they head to Naperville for another CCIW double-header, this time against the North Central Cardinals. First pitch in Game 1 is set for 3:00 P.M.