PLYMOUTH, Minn.-- The second day of the Plymouth Creek Dome Tournament hosted by North Central University on Friday brought both positive momentum and tough challenges for the Rams Softball team. NCU got a pair of wins but also lost two games in the last inning to wrap up the opening weekend of their 2013 season.

GAME ONE: NCU vs. MBBC

North Central (2-4, 0-0) opened the second day of the tournament by earning their first victory of the year, a narrow 6-4 win over Maranatha Baptist Bible College (Watertown, Wis.). NCU got ahead 1-0 in the first inning before Maranatha took a 2-1 lead after two. The Crusaders extended their lead to 3-1 in the top of the third befor NCU rallied to tie the game 3-3 after three full innings. North Central then held MBBC off the scoreboard in the top of the fourth before taking a 4-3 lead in the bottom of that inning. Maranatha responded by getting a tying run in the fifth and holding the Rams scoreless to set the game at 4-4 after five full innings. NCU shutout Maranatha in the sixth and got a pair of runs that ended up as the game winning tallies to take the first game of the day for each team.

NCU opened the scoring when senior Elisabeth Trickey (Waseca, Minn./Waseca) led off the game with a bunt single and advanced to second a passed ball. Senior Bethany Bostron (Spicer, Minn./Bostron Academy) then laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt that moved Trickey to third and she was able to score on the throw to first base. 

Bostron added another sacrifice bunt RBI in the third inning that scored sophomore Keshia Carpentier (Coon Rapids, Minn./Anoka-Ramsey CC) from third after she had reached on a lead off walk, and moved Elisabeth Trickey third after she reached on a hard hit single in the hole to short. Senior Hannah Gordon (Boise, Idaho/Centennial) then fired a single down the right field line that scored Trickey easily from third.

In the fourth inning junior Rachel Ritter (Duncansville, Pa./Holidaysburg) began a one-out rally with walk. Keshia Carpentier then dropped a single in shallow left center field that moved Ritter up a base. Sophomore Sonya Beichley (Gladbrook, Iowa/Gladbrook-Reinbeck) then walked to load the bases. The next play Elisabeth Trickey then singled to score Ritter but Carpentier was ruled out at home trying to score from second.

The two crucial runs for NCU game in the sixth. Rachel Ritter started the one-out rally by reaching base with a walk and advancing on a wild pitch. Keshia Carpentier then walked to give NCU runners at first and second with one out. Sonya Beichley then laid down a great bunt and legged out a base hit that loaded the bases. Elisabeth Trickey then roped a single through the left side that scored both Ritter and Carpentier.

Bethany Bostron got her first pitching win of the year, going all seven innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts.

GAME TWO: NCU vs. MLC

The second game of the day was a painful loss for NCU as they dropped a 12-11 match-up with Martin Luther College (New Ulm, Minn.). After leading 11-7 going into the top of the seventh the Rams got to within one out of a win but an NCU error kept the inning alive and the Knights capitalized scoring four unearned runs. NCU got runners on second and third with two outs but could not get the needed runs to change the score.

Elisabeth Trickey was 5-5 on the day with an RBI and three runs scored. Hannah Gordon was 3-3 with five RBI, three runs scored, a three run home run and a walk. Freshmen Rachel Thearin (Hayward, Wis./Hayward) and Megan Myers (Cannon Falls, Minn./Randolf) each hit home runs in the game.

GAME THREE: NCU vs. PC

The Rams then finished up a game with Presentation College (Aberdeen, S.D.) that began on Thursday but was stopped after 3.5 innings due to facility rental time constraints. The Rams began the game at bat in the bottom of the fourth and leading 7-1. NCU added a pair of runs in that first at bat on Friday and Presentation then added a run in the top of the fifth to make the score 9-2. But another NCU run in the bottom of the fifth gave the Rams a 10-2 lead that gave North Central an NCAA run rule win.

NCU jumped on Presentation early in the game on Thursday when freshman Meryn Garvey (Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt) smacked her first college home run, a 3-run shot, that was part of a four run first inning for the Rams. After Presentation got one run back in the top of the second, Megan Myers crushed her first college home run over the left field fence that scored two NCU runs and equaled the Rams 7-1 lead that would end up holding out for the team's second win of the year. 

Elisabeth Trickey was 3-3 with 2 runs scored and a walk. Meryn Garvey was 2-3 with home run and 3 RBI. Rachel Thearin was 2-3 with 2 runs scored.

Bethany Bostron earned her second pitching win of the season in the game, moving to 2-2 on the year.

GAME FOUR: NCU vs. PC

NCU would then take on Presentation College once again, in the game that was already on the schedule for Friday. This time the restrictions of time constraints hurt the Rams as NCU fell behind 9-4 in the top of the fifth inning and could not get back ahead in their part of the fifth. The game was ended after five innings due to time restrictions. Five innings meets the NCAA minimums for a game to count but in a regularly scheduled game, the Rams might have had more opportunities to trim the lead.

NCU led 2-1 after an inning and held a 4-2 lead after the third. North Central had a shot to be on the other side of the time restraint challenge, leading 4-3 after four full innings. But three NCU errors in the top of the fifth allowed six Presentation runs, three unearned, that would stand as the difference.

Rachel Thearin was 2-3 with an RBI. Hannah Gordon was 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

The Rams are scheduled to get back in action on March 27 with a road double-header at Mt. Mary College (Milwaukee, Wis.).