Red Raider Softball to Host Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday

Game Time... The Northwestern College softball team will host Nebraska Wesleyan in a GPAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 19 at 3/5:00 pm (note the time change). Game two can be heard via the Northwestern webcast at the following link:  listen.

Scouting Report... Nebraska Wesleyan comes in with an 18-10 overall record, 11-7 and in sixth place in the GPAC. They have won eight of their last nine games with sweeps over Mount Marty, USF and Buena Vista (NCAA D-III) and a split with Midland Lutheran. The Prairie Wolves are coached by Lance Kingery who is in his seventh season at NWU.

NWU is third in the league with a .326 batting average and score 5.5 runs per game. They are fourth in the league in fielding (.955) and are giving up 3.4 runs per game. The Prairie Wolves are fourth in the GPAC in team ERA (2.72) and have 178 strikeouts this season.

Nebraska Wesleyan is led by seniors Klancy Nixon and Mollie Siem, who both earned second team all-league honors in 2007. Nixon, a shortstop from Norfolk, Neb., is ninth in the GPAC with a .396 average and leads the team with 22 RBIs. She also leads the team with 10 stolen bases and posts a .451 on-base percentage. Seim, a catcher from Grand Island, Neb., is batting .379 with 10 RBIs this season. Kelsey Worley, a junior first baseman, also returns after she earned first team all-league honors last year. Worley is batting .329 with six doubles and 12 RBIs. Megan Beckstead (.338) and Marcia Kennedy (.329) are the other top hitters for NWU.

The pitching staff is led by senior Ashley Tiedgen who has an 11-4 record and a 2.88 ERA. She is seventh in the league with 87 strikeouts and has just 36 walks in 102 innings. Freshman Alysia Wittmaack is 7-6 with a 2.53 ERA in 88 2/3 innings pitched.

Last Time Out... Ashley Tiedgen threw a no-hitter in game one while going 3-3 at the plate as Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Mount Marty College, 8-0, in six innings in game one of a GPAC doubleheader last  Wednesday night in Lincoln. NWU also used the run-rule to defeat the Lancers, 9-0, in five innings in game two. Tiedgen allowed just one hit in 9.0 innings of work on the night. She threw a no-hitter in game one, striking out seven and walking two in 6.0 innings. She also started game two and threw the first three innings allowing only one hit to pick up her second victory of the night. At the plate, Tiedgen was 3-3 in game one with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs. She also scored two runs in game two. Several different players had big offensive nights at the plate for the Prairie Wolves, led by Megan Beckstead was 3-4 in game one, while Erin Starkey was 2-3. Klancy Nixon had a triple with three RBIs. In game two, four players had two hits apiece. Starkey was 2-3 with two RBIs, Marcia Kennedy was 2-3, Alysia Wittmaack was 2-3 with a double and two RBIs and Mollie Seim was 2-3 with a triple.

The Northwestern College softball team lost a GPAC doubleheader to Midland Lutheran, 3-1 and 10-2 (six innings) played April 16. In the 3-1 game one loss, Lexy Determan (11-7) gave up just four hits, no earned runs and struck out seven Midland Lutheran batters. The Red Raiders, however, committed four errors which led to all three MLC runs. Northwestern took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Michelle Van Duyn singled and later scored off a sacrifice fly by Sara Curry. The Warriors responded with all three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Offensively, the Red Raiders had three hits, one each by Van Duyn, Amy Larson and Lara Vonnahmen.

The Red Raiders fell behind 8-0 after the first two innings and could not recover, falling 10-2 in six innings in game two. Midland Lutheran scored six in the first and two more runs in the second inning before Northwestern scored both runs in the top of the third inning. The Warriors closed out the scoring with one run in the fourth and the final run in the sixth inning. Gavi Burrola (5-7) picked up the loss as the junior went 4 1/3 innings and gave up nine hits and six runs, four earned. Michelle Van Duyn and Amy Larson each had one hit and scored one run.

Red Raider Notes... Northwestern comes into today's games with a 16-14 overall record, 6-6 in the GPAC with just one week left in the regular season. Head Coach Melanie Mason is in her seventh year as Head Coach and has led NWC to a 203-109 record coming into this year. Last year, the Red Raiders finished 32-19 overall and tied for second place in the conference with an 18-6 mark.

Northwestern is batting .297 this season and averaging 4.4 runs per game. Defensively, they are third in the GPAC with a .956 fielding percentage and allow 3.2 runs per game. The pitching staff boasts a 2.77 team ERA, fifth best in the league.

Senior Lizz Swanson is second in the GPAC with a .421 batting average and fourth in hits (40). She is fifth all-time in NWC history in RBIs with 104, second in stolen bases with 71 and fourth all-time in home runs. Swanson leads the GPAC with eight home runs and 37 RBIs this season. Michelle Van Duyn and Sara Curry are batting .344 and .341 respectively. Lexy Determan leads the pitching staff with an 11-7 record and an impressive 1.93 ERA. She leads the GPAC with 148 strikeouts and is fourth all-time in NWC history in strikeouts in a season. Gavi Burrola boasts a 5-7 record and 4.24 ERA.

Next up... The Red Raiders begin a busy final week of the regular season with a doubleheader against Dakota Wesleyan on Monday, April 21. The games will be played in Mitchell, S.D.