Murphy leads Warriors past Defenders in nightcap
By Aaron Schneider
SIOUX CENTER – The Waldorf University softball team secured a split during Thursday’s doubleheader against Dordt College.
Dordt (22-16) jumped out to an early lead to notch an 8-4 win in the opener. The Warriors (14-22) claimed a 5-4 victory in the nightcap while holding the Defenders to five hits.
Waldorf’s Maggie Hawley went 3-for-4 at the plate in the opener as the senior from Missouri Valley knocked in two runs. Senior Maggie Eden turned in a 2-for-4 performance with a triple and an RBI while senior Jessica Abrahamson went 2-for-4 with a double. The Warriors received a pair of singles from senior Kaitlin Muphy. Juniors Trista Bures, Brittani Sanchez and sophomore Hattie Hupke also added singles.
Tessa Howerzyl and Krista Bousema each turned in two hits and two RBIs for the Defenders. Samantha Johnson went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple. Carissa McBirnie contributed a double, going 2-for-4. Andrea Pierce finished 2-for-3 with a run-scoring single.
Tianna Top (12-6) earned the win following four scoreless innings in the pitcher’s circle. She struck out a batter and allowed three hits.
CJ Van Der Zwaag recorded her second save of the season. She issued two walks and allowed four runs on nine hits in three innings.
Hawley (4-6) was hit with the loss. She walked four batters and surrendered eight runs on 13 hits in six innings.
Bousema put Dordt on the board in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI sacrifice fly. Pierce singled in a run to give Dordt a 2-0 lead.
Howerzyl provided a third-inning RBI single. Michal Hoogland belted a two-run single while Bousema cracked an RBI single to push the Defenders to a six-run advantage.
Johnson tripled in a run during the fourth.
Hupke connected for a fifth-inning RBI single to cut Waldorf’s deficit to six runs.
Hawley produced a run-scoring single during the sixth, narrowing Dordt’s lead to a five-run advantage. Howerzyl countered with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning to extend the Defender’s lead to 8-2.
Eden and Hawley contributed RBI singles during the seventh.
Murphy paced the Warriors during the nightcap, going 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs. Junior Ashton May went 3-for-3 at the plate, Eden delivered a triple while Bures and Abrahamson finished with singles.
Howerzyl went 2-for-2 with a double. Johnson turned in a 2-for-3 performance and Corinne Valdix tallied a single.
Sophomore Briley Sullivan (4-2) picked up the win. She struck out two batters, walked five and gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits in five innings.
Sophomore Kaylie Brindley closed out the final two innings to notch her first save of the season. She fanned a batter, issued two walks and allowed one unearned run on one hit.
McBirnie (2-5) was tagged with the loss, exiting after two-thirds of an inning. She recorded a strikeout, three walks and relinquished four runs on two hits.
Top relieved for five and one-third scoreless innings, punching out four batters and allowing three hits. Van Der Zwaag pitched the final inning, notching a strikeout and giving up one run on three hits.
The Warriors took control early with a four-run first inning. Murphy ripped a three-run triple and later scored on a wild pitch.
Molly Vignovich brought home Jordan Harmelink with a second-inning sac fly.
Johnson cracked a run-scoring single in the third to pull the Defenders within two runs.
Howerzyl put Dordt within a run after scoring on a wild pitch during the sixth.
Murphy delivered a seventh-inning RBI single to give the Warriors a two-run cushion.
Howerzyl crossed home plate in the seventh when Harmelink reached base on an error.
Waldorf resumes North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) play against Valley City State University (27-10, 8-4) at Valley City, North Dakota. in a pair of doubleheaders starting at 5 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Vikings currently own fourth in the NSAA standings, sitting four games out of first place. Waldorf holds a fifth-place tie with Presentation College (19-23, 7-9).