By Jonathan Zenk, Northwestern State Assistant Director of Communications
SAN ANTONIO – Clutch hits and even more clutch pitching helped Northwestern State pick up a thrilling 4-3 win at UIW on Wednesday afternoon.
A bases loaded single up the middle from Camryn Becnel broke a scoreless draw in the fourth inning to give the Demons (5-36, 2-16) the lead. Back-to-back hits from two pinch-hitters in the seventh set the table for Sophia Livers’ second double of the day to give the Demons some insurance.
Starter Brooklynn Stohler threw her conference-leading ninth complete game of the season, working through traffic in all but one inning to hold UIW (22-15, 12-6) to just three runs while scattering six hits across the seven innings of work. She induced 16 fly ball outs in the game, saving her lone strikeout for the second out of the bottom of the seventh.
“Today I just stuck to my strengths and stayed confident in my pitches,” Stohler said. “I was really happy to see the offense work. Bec (Camryn Becnel) had a really clutch hit in the fourth to put us ahead. That put their backs against the wall, which is huge, and allowed us to losse up. Then Sophia came through in the seventh with a double. Without that hit we might not have pulled through with the win. Two huge clutch hits and I’m super proud of them.”
Neither team presented much offensive threat through the first three innings of the game. The Demons loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second, thanks to a pair of walks to start the inning, but could not produce the needed hit to bring a run in.
UIW got the first two batters of the third inning aboard on a double and walk, but Stohler got one of her four ground ball outs in the game for the first out before getting two easy pop ups on the infield to escape the run-scoring chance.
The Demons loaded the bases again in the fourth inning, but this time got the clutch hit they needed to take the lead.
The frame began just like the Cardinals’ half inning prior did with a leadoff double from Sophia Livers and a walk by Riley Schwisow. After a sacrifice bunt moved them each up a base, Savannah Coleman worked a walk loading the bases for the short stop Becnel.
After falling behind 0-2 in the count, the freshmen shot a ball back up the middle to score Livers and Schwisow on the play and give the Demons their first lead of the series. Aly Delafield picked up the third hit of the inning, a hard hit ball that knocked the glove off of the pitcher, but a fielder’s choice out and strikeout left the bags full of Demons as the inning ended.
Stohler worked around a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the inning before suffering her first blemish in the fifth, a leadoff solo home run to UIW slugger and batting leader Victoria Altamirano, chopping the lead in half with one swing.
The freshman hurler responded by getting the next eight batters in a row out helping secure the Demon lead through the first two outs of the seventh inning.
“I talked to her before the series and told her to just hang in there, keep pitching, eventually we’re going to win those close games,” Fuller said. “She trusts the process and understand that we’re a young team and have to go through all of this. Really proud that she could go the distance today and get the win.”
NSU took a one-run lead into the top of the seventh and thanks to more clutch hits and plays turned it into a more comfortable three-run lead.
A Peyton Peck double and Tori Clayton single, both pinch hit at-bats, put the first two runners on base. After a strikeout, Livers attacked the first pitch she saw, taking it over the head of the right fielder for her second double of the game, scoring Ragsdale and giving NSU a 3-1 lead.
“She’d been struggling a little bit lately so we moved her down in the lineup this series and that seemed to settle her down a little bit,” Fuller said about Livers. “She came through big time with some big hits.”
Livers finished the series with four hits total, three of them for extra bases, with hits in each of the three games.
She then provided the eventually winning run as the Demons executed the first-and-third double steal play, with Schwisow intestinally inducing a run down between first and second, allowing Livers to scamper home giving NSU a 4-1 lead going to the bottom of the inning.
“If we don’t get those runs then we don’t win,” Fuller said. “Really proud of the offense for coming through there. Had a big pinch-hit double from Peyton Peck to start it off then Tori Clayton came through with a hit. We executed the first-and-third play to scrore another run. If we don’t do that we don’t win this game. Just so proud of them for executing in the big spot and getting it done.”
Stohler retired the first two batters she faced in the bottom of the inning before walking Altamirano. A pinch-hit two run home run from the next batter Gracie Alejo brought the Cardinals back within a run with two outs.
Two pitches later an easy fly ball to right fell into the glove of NSU’s long senior Bailie Ragsdale for the final out, securing the second one-run win in conference and fourth overall on the year.