St. Paul, MN -- This afternoon, the softball team from North Central University (NCU) traveled to the West Saint Paul Dome to face the Maranatha Baptist College (MBC) Sabercats. North Central played against Maranatha in a doubleheader in March of the 2024 season, where NCU came out victorious in both games. Today, history repeated itself as the Rams defeated the Sabercats once again, with a final score of 20-0 and 20-2. Freshmen Addison Schroer and Kaitlyn Havens had career performances as they led the Rams to their first two wins of the season.

Game 1: NCU 20, MBU 0

The Rams took control from the opening pitch and never relented, scoring in every inning while shutting out the Sabercats behind a complete-game no-hitter. In the first inning, freshman pitcher Addison Schroer singled and later scored on a base hit from Kaitlyn Havens, getting the Rams on the board early. Schroer also swiped second, igniting a trend of aggressive base running. North Central broke things open with a 6-run rally in the second inning. Senior Delaney Riddle led off with a single and stole third after an error. Walks to Gabbie Ruzek and Kelsey Henninger set up the inning. Riddle and Ruzek both scored on a perfectly executed bunt single by Henninger and continued pressure led to multiple unearned runs. Havens and Aurora Prettyman followed with RBI hits to cap off the inning. Inning number three was the defining moment of the game, a staggering 11-run inning. Henninger led off with a bunt single, stole second, and scored on an RBI single from Isabela Gallardo. Schroer followed with another RBI knock. After Havens was hit by a pitch, Prettyman stepped up and launched a 3-run home run to center, giving NCU a commanding 12-0 lead. Moments later, Kaitlyn Havens returned to the plate and crushed a grand slam to left, extending the lead to 18-0 in the same inning. In the fourth, Henninger delivered again with a triple that brought in another run. She then scored on a wild pitch, pushing the score to 20-0. With the game well in hand, Schroer returned to the circle and closed the game with a pair of strikeouts to complete her no-hitter, finishing with 8 strikeouts and 0 hits allowed over five innings.

Game 2: NCU 20, MBU 2

Isabela Gallardo opened the bottom of the first with a bunt single, followed by an RBI double from Addison Schroer. Schroer later scored on a single from Kaitlyn Havens, and the Rams added runs via walks and a two-RBI single from Kelsey Henninger to jump out to a 5-0 lead. In the second inning, Schroer led off with a single, stole second, and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Aurora Prettyman and Erica Gilles both walked to load the bases, and Gabbie Ruzek punched a single to drive in two more. Gallardo came through again with a 2-RBI single to make it 10-1. After walks to Havens and Prettyman and an error, NCU kept applying pressure in the third. Ruzek walked in a run, Henninger walked to plate another, and Gallardo drove in two more with a base hit. Schroer chipped in again with another RBI single, and by the end of the inning, the Rams were up 17-2. In the fourth, the big hit came from junior Charley Kastl, who smacked a bases-clearing single that extended the lead to 20-2, putting the game completely out of reach. Addison Schroer finished off her second complete game of the day, striking out three more to end the contest. Her final line: 5 innings pitched, 1 hit, 13 strikeouts, and her second win of the day.

Top Performers:

• Addison Schroer (Fr., P): went 6-8, 6 R, 3 RBI, 3 SB, 2B, 2 BB; 10.0 IP, 2 CG, 2 W, 21 K, 1 H
• Kaitlyn Havens (Fr., 2B): went 4-5, grand slam HR, 6 R, 6 RBI, 2B, 2 SB, 2 BB
• Kelsey Henninger (Sr., CF): went 5-5, 5 R, 5 RBI, 3B, SB, 3 BB

Looking Ahead:

On Friday, March 21st at 3:00 PM, the Rams will host the University of Northwestern (UNW) Eagles to kick off their first series of conference play.

All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on softball and all things NCU Athletics.