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By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Northern Kentucky University softball team took out some frustrations on Wednesday as the Norse dominated Ohio Dominican, sweeping a doubleheader by 8-0 and 11-3 scores. The Norse used a six-run first inning to set the tone in Game 1. After loading up the bases by virtue of a pair of errors and a single, Amanda Smith was walked to plate the game's first run. Gretchen Lorenz followed up with a two-run single, and then April Ehlers cleared the bases with a two-run triple. Chelsea Toler closed out the scoring by executing the squeeze to score Ehlers. Lorenz and Rose Broderick each had RBI base hits in the fourth to get the eight-run margin, while Smith closed things out in the circle to take the run-rule result after five innings. Smith (3-2) earned NKU's first shutout of the season on four hits and three strikeouts. Lorenz led the offense, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. The offense went back-and-forth in Game 2, as both teams plated two runs in the first inning. The Norse took the lead for good in the third inning on Katybeth Coode's solo home run. Coode repeated the feat in the fifth inning for her third round-tripper of the season, while Toler added a two-run single to push the advantage to four. The Panthers got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a leadoff home run from Muriel Kelley, but Broderick answered mightily in the sixth with her third home run of the season, a grand slam over the left-field wall to make it a 10-3 lead. Shatona Campbell added her second long ball of the year in a pinch-hitting appearance in the seventh inning to get the final result. Chelsie Roy (2-3) took the win, striking out six in 4 2/3 innings of work. Ehlers pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn her first career save. Northern Kentucky (7-13) returns to Great Lakes Valley Conference action this weekend, hosting Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri S&T in doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch each day is scheduled for noon. |
