RIVER FOREST, Ill. –
Sam Marchant (
Jr.-Green Bay, Wis.) drove in seven runs in the second game including a grand slam and the Lakeland University softball team opened Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play with a bang, taking two from Concordia University Chicago Saturday afternoon on the road.
The Muskies won 2-1 in a low-scoring opener, then broke out in the second game for a 13-1 victory in five innings. Lakeland made its return to play one week after completing its spring break trip to Florida and improved to 10-4 overall, while Concordia dropped to 3-7 overall, 0-2 in the NACC
Marchant broke open the second game with a grand slam home run the opposite way to right-center, part of a five-run second inning and giving the Muskies a 5-1 lead. The graduate student catcher would also add a two-run double as part of a four-run third inning and capped her day with a sacrifice fly for a career-high seven runs batted in.
Lexi Howard (
So.-Crown Point, Ind.) also drove in four runs in the second game as part of a big day, going 2-for-2 with three runs scored. The sophomore third baseman walked to send in a run to tie the game at 1-1 in the second just before Marchant's homer, singled in a run in the third, and added a two-run double in the fourth to make it 11-1.
Lakeland finished with 13 hits in the second game, overcoming a 1-0 deficit after one inning by scoring five times in the second and four more runs in both the third and fourth innings. Howard, Marchant,
Kendyll Holub (
Jr.-Sturtevant, Wis.) and
Callie Linders (
Jr.-Griffith, Ind.) all registered two hits apiece, and Holub and
Carlie Morrow (
Sr.-Menasha, Wis.) joined Howard in scoring three runs each.
Lily Pettit (
So.-Rewey, Wis.) and
Addison Dierschow (
Fr.-Sycamore, Ill.) shut down the Cougars in the circle, with Pettit allowing three hits in four innings and Dierschow finishing with a hitless fifth inning to close it out.
Pitching plus timely hits by Howard and
Abby Heitman (
Sr.-St. Francis, Wis.) carried the Muskies in the low-scoring opener.
Natalie Ziebell (
So.-New Holstein, Wis.) pitched six innings and allowed five hits and one run on the way to her fifth win of the season.
Jacie Jones (
Sr.-Prairie du Sac, Wis.) came on in the seventh and allowed two hits but with runners at first and second with two outs got Emily Garcia to fly out to earn her second save of the season.
Lakeland held a lead almost the entire way, scoring just three batters into the game. Linders walked to lead off,
Sydney Meyer (
Sr.-Crown Point, Ind.) moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt, and Heitman followed with a triple to right to score Linders for a 1-0 lead.
The Muskies added a run in the fourth inning, getting a two-out single by Morrow to keep the inning going. Howard followed with a double down the left field line, her second hit of the game to give Lakeland a 2-0 lead. Concordia closed to within 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth when McKyler Morris hit a two-out double to left center to score Garcia, but got no closer.
Lakeland's previously scheduled doubleheader for Sunday against Milwaukee School of Engineering has been postponed due to anticipated cold temperatures. The Muskies' next game scheduled is a doubleheader against Ripon College on Wednesday for their home opener at 3 p.m.
