MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The North Central University (NCU) softball team played a doubleheader against Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opponent, the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM). The Cougars took the first game with a score of 9-3 but the Rams came back to win the second game at 9-5.

Game One Recap

NCU recorded the first run of the day when Isabella Gallardo (Austin, TX) ran home off of a Cougar error in left field. The second inning went quickly as both teams generated fast outs. However, the third inning was much different for the Cougar offense. The UMM hitters connected with the ball countless times to put up six runs in just that inning. The Rams did score two of their own, off of a double to center field from Selma Carrasco (El Paso, TX, Mountain View High School) which brought in Delaney Riddle (Lake Stevens, WA) and Gallardo. The hole the Cougars put NCU in the third inning was too hard for the Rams to come back from in the rest of the game. UMM recorded three more runs in the later innings as they took the first game of the day 9-3.

Game Two Recap

Despite the cold, the Rams persisted on and generated a quite successful first inning. First, Aurora Prettyman (Portland, OR) singled to center field bringing Gallardo and Carrasco across home plate. Then Hosanna Gattle (Merrit Island, FL) doubled to center field to bring in Prettyman, putting the Rams up by three. The Cougars responded well, scoring a run in the second and two in the third to tie it up. But it all changed when Brooke McGlinchey (Belle Plaine, MN) stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the third. With Kali Kahalekomo (Muncie, IN), Gattle, and Prettyman all on base, McGlinchey's bat swung true as she homered all the way to left field, racking in four runs for NCU. This grand slam stopped the Cougar's rhythm even though they scored twice more in the game. Instead, the Rams found their own rhythm and in the fifth inning, Katelynn Fox (Hedesville, WV) singled to second base allowing Lindsey DeJong (St. Charles, MO, St. Charles High School) to cross home plate followed by an unearned run from Kahalekomo . The offensive surge gave the Rams the second game of the day with a score of 9-5.

With this spilt, the Rams move to 9-16 record and 2-6 in the conference.

Key Performers

• Brooke McGlinchey recorded four RBI's in the second game off of her homerun to left field.
• In the first game, Selma Carrasco had two RBI's and one run.
• Aurora Prettyman snagged two RBI's along with two runs in the second game of the day.

Looking Ahead

The Rams take the Easter weekend off in preparation for their next UMAC doubleheader at Northland College with game times set for 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages for updates on the softball team and much more information.