BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- North Park softball's 2023 season has drawn to a conclusion after Friday afternoon's 5-3 loss to Augustana on the second day of the CCIW Tournament. Even so, 2023 goes down as one of the most successful seasons of the softball program's history. This year's Vikings set a record with nine conference wins, breaking the former record of six set in 2013, and their win yesterday over Elmhurst marks the first postseason victory for NPU Softball since joining the CCIW in 1987. North Park's efforts were rewarded with four All-CCIW selections, with seniors Alyssa Malicki and Emily Reczek earning spots on the First Team while freshmen Eden Baker and Kayla Lorenz joined the Second Team.
Facing off against CCIW Pitcher of the Year, Nadia Ranieri, the Vikings got off to a sizzling start to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Leading off, Eden Baker got on base to spark NPU's offense, and Kathryn Keehn doubled in the next at-bat to give the team a 1-0 lead with no outs. Three batters later, SP Alyssa Malicki sent a ball deep to left field, clearing the fence and putting the Vikings up by three.
However, in the next half inning, Augustana bounced back with three runs of their own to tie the score at 3-3. Ranieri carried that momentum onto the mound where she allowed just one more hit for the game's remainder, earning herself four 1-2-3 innings along the way, and Augustana's bats did their parts to plate runs in the fourth and seventh innings and take home a 5-3 victory.
Despite a bittersweet ending to the 2023 campaign, the Vikings have a bright future to look forward to in 2024 and beyond as the team is set to return eight starting players from today's season finale.
