CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park softball put together a conference-opening sweep ahead of Easter weekend thanks to resilient pitching and late-game knocks to sweep North Central in a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin doubleheader on Friday afternoon in Chicago. The Vikings edged the Cardinals 3-2 in the opener before walking it off with a 1-0 win in a nine-inning game two.
Game One – North Park 3, North Central 2
North Central threatened early in the opener as Gwen Shouse opened the game by driving a double into the right-center gap. Gracie Vlach followed with a well-placed bunt single, moving Shouse to third. After a groundout moved the runner, Kayla Crabtree put the ball in play to first base, allowing Shouse to score on a fielder's choice and give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
From there, North Park starter Raquel Hare settled in, getting plenty of soft contact. The Cardinals continued to put runners on base, finishing with six hits and eight left on, but NCC struggled to string together any real offense as Hare stood tall in her first conference start.
Meanwhile, North Park's offense stayed quiet early against Sam Schilf, who worked efficiently and kept the Vikings off the board through four innings. That changed in the fifth.
North Park capitalized on a brief lapse defensively by North Central, placing runners in scoring position before senior center fielder Kayla Sapolu stepped to the plate. The veteran center fielder punched a single through the left side of the infield, driving in two runs to flip the game and give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
The Vikings added a crucial insurance run an inning later. Freshman second baseman Miabella Collazzo sparked the inning with a hit and senior first baseman Salyssa Garcia delivered an RBI single that pushed the lead to 3-1.
North Central made one final push in the seventh, plating a run to bring the tying run to the plate. A great diving snag by senior left fielder Eden Baker helped relieve some of the late pressure before Coach Katie Anderson turned to freshman Abrianne Papas in relief.
Papas induced a flyout to end the threat, grabbing her second save in as many appearances.
Game Two – North Park 1, North Central 0 (9 innings)
A pitcher's duel would commence in game two as North Central's Juliana Maude and North Park's Katelyn Meyer were putting on a showcase in the circle.
Maude was dominant, scattering two hits across 8.2 innings and consistently working out of trouble with ground ball contact. The Cardinals put pressure on North Park's defense, tallying seven hits, but three double plays and gunning down the lead runner kept the Cardinals scoreless.
North Park countered with Meyer, who matched Maude pitch for pitch. Meyer induced ground ball after ground ball, leaning on her defense to erase threats and keep the game scoreless through seven innings. Papas took over in the eighth and ninth, continuing the trend by forcing weak contact and stranding Cardinal runners.
After eight scoreless frames, the game turned in the bottom of the ninth. North Park finally broke through against Maude. Sapolu drew a full-count walk before senior shortstop Kayla Lorenz took over at first base following a fielder's choice. Next, Collazo would drive the game's only extra-base hit, smacking a high line drive to the centerfield wall as Lorenz turned and burned around the bases for the walkoff.
Top Performers
North Park
North Central
- Gwen Shouse: Extra-base hit and run scored in game one
- Gracie Vlach: Multiple-hit performances in both games
- Lauren Bowmar: 3-for-4 in game two
- Juliana Maude: 8.2 IP, walk-off loss despite strong outing in game two
What's Next?
North Park (10-8, 2-0 CCIW) takes Easter weekend off before returning to play on Monday, April 6, for a doubleheader at home against Benedictine University. First pitch for game one against the Eagles is set for 1:00 PM CT.
