INDIANOLA, Iowa - Three days of rain in the Dubuque area left the #23-ranked Spartans softball field unplayable on Sunday. The University of Dubuque softball team would be forced to re-locate their home weekend series with the Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairiewolves to Indianola. The Simpson College Storm offered their field for the series on Sunday and Monday. The Storm were hosting Coe College while UD vs. NWU would play around the series.
The first game beginning at 6 p.m. would be a slugfest with four homeruns among the two squads. In the bottom of the third,
Deanna Origer homered scoring
Kylee Biedermann for two RBI's. The Prairiewolves trailed by a run at the top of fifth, 6-7, and would change the game with two outs. Nebraska Wesleyan would put five runs on the board after an error let two runs cross the place. Two runners were on base for the next at bat and an untimely homerun would add three runs before the onslaught of runs were stopped by a pop up to shortstop for the final out with NWU leading 11-7.
UD would slice the lead to 8-11 in the bottom of the six when UD scored on an error by right field. The game would end with NWU taking the victory after scoring 11 runs off 12 hits and four errors. UD scored eight runs off nine hits with just one error.
In the nightcap, pitcher
Lexi Schmidt would improve to 8-2 overall after striking out three, allowing just four hit and no runs in a Spartan 2-0 victory. UD scored first by adding a run in the bottom of the first inning on a sac RBI by
Morgan Turnmire which scored
Kylee Biedermann for the 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth,
Alyanna Martinez singled up the middle and scored
Cayla Cavanagh for the 2-0 lead. The final three innings would be scoreless with just three runners being left on base (two by the Spartans and one by the Prairiewolves).
Rachel Trader would finish the game 2-3 at the plate. She will look to keep her hot bat going on Monday afternoon for the third game of the series beginning at 1 p.m. Following the conclusion of the game, the Storm will host the Kohawks at 4 p.m. in American Rivers Conference action.