On Wednesday, April 11, Northwestern traveled to Sioux Center to take on Dordt College in a Sioux County matchup between the two GPAC teams. NW would go on to sweep Dordt in the doubleheader with scores of 6-4 and 4-3.
In the first game of the doubleheader, NW was first to score. Junior Madison Beaver started off the Raiders with a line drive to right-center field for a triple. Beaver was brought in by senior Amanda Everhart with a hit to the shortstop-third base gap. The Raiders would end the first inning with a 1-0 lead.
Solid defense for the Raiders limited scoring chances for the Defenders. The game would go scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Dordt was able to bring a runner home with a sacrifice fly. Batting at the top of the fifth, senior Chevy Wilcke drove a pitch over the centerfield fence, which gave the Raiders back the lead, 2-1.
The top of the sixth inning showed that NW’s bats were still hot. Senior Kayla Tindall made solid contact with the ball sending it into left-center field to bring in two runs. The top of the seventh also brought in two more runs complimentary of Everhart. The powerful scoring innings brought the NW lead to 6-1. In the bottom of the seventh, Dordt managed to score three, but it was not enough to close the gap.
Going into extra innings, the second game of the night was a fierce competition between the two teams as they battled at the plate. Going scoreless until the second inning, Dordt was the first to get a run across home plate. The Raiders responded with a fourth-inning home run by Tindall to tie the game up. However, in the bottom of the fourth, Dordt managed to get two runners in, regaining the lead 3-1.
The fifth inning brought freshman Emma Schnell to the plate. Schnell made contact with the ball sending it up the middle and senior Katie Elliott placed a hit to the left-center fence, allowing Schnell to easily cross the plate closing the gap, 2-3.
Scoring was at a standstill for several innings. NW pitcher Schnell struck out two batters in the sixth, her fifth and six strikeout of the night.
Senior Jess Sandbulte tied up the game with a drive down the middle to go into the bottom of the seventh. Dordt was unable to keep anyone on base, which forced the game into extra innings.
Top of the eight, NW sealed the victory with a hit by Schnell into right-center field. The hit allowed the game-winning run to score. In the bottom of the eighth Schnell stuck out the last batter, securing the sweep.
The victory over Dordt brings NW to a nine-game win streak and puts them at 22-5 (7-1 in GPAC play). NW will host Dakota Wesleyan for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 17 at 5 and 7 p.m.
