TWO OPPONENTS, TWO WINS FOR SOFTBALL

Facing a pair of teams with “North” in their names down south in Clermont, Florida, the only direction the Muhlenberg softball team went was up.

The Mules won both of their games, defeating Northwestern (Minn.), 8-1, and Northland, 7-6.

Junior Ashley Brewer once again starred on offense and on the mound in the first game. Brewer allowed just one run and three hits over seven innings, struck out a career high 11 and belted a two-run home run, her second tater of the young season.

Sophomore Shelby Smith had a pinch RBI in the first game and reached base twice in three trips to the plate in the second.

Muhlenberg led 1-0 in the third when a pair of freshmen helped expand the lead. Angie Sisco led off the inning with a triple, and Devon Barber followed with an RBI single. After a steal and a sacrifice Brewer hit her blast, making it 4-0.

The Mules tacked on another in the fifth on an RBI double from sophomore Brittany Blohm and added three more in the top of the seventh.

The Eagles’ (5-5) best chances to get back in the game came in the third and sixth. But in both innings Brewer worked out of two-out jams with swinging strikeouts.

There was far more drama in the second game, as Northland (1-4) erased an early 2-1 deficit by plating five runs in the top of the fifth. But Muhlenberg (4-3) responded immediately, scoring five runs of its own in the bottom-half of the inning.

Junior Alyssa Epstein smacked an RBI single with two runners in scoring position to get the big inning going. Brewer and Blohm then followed with RBI singles, and Blohm scored on a wild pitch. Freshman Elizabeth Sullivan then knocked in the go-ahead run with another base hit.

Junior Alyssa Bruckner, who entered in relief during Northland’s fifth-inning rally, did the rest from there, scattering three hits but allowing no runs to score in the final two innings.

Brewer went 5-for-6 with 5 RBI combined in the two games, and Barber was 6-for-8 with four stolen bases. The Mules stole 12 bases total in the twin bill.
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Click for complete stats: Northwestern | Northland