St. Bonifacius, Minn. – The weather was finally warm enough to host outdoor softball and the Crown College Storm and North Central University Rams took advantage of the cool but sunny day to get in a double-header on Saturday.  Both offenses acclimated well to the conditions as the two teams scored a combined 33 runs over two games with Crown taking the opener 10-8 and North Central claiming game two 9-6.

Game one was a back-and-forth affair that featured six lead changes as the two teams traded blows throughout seven innings. 

Crown scored first on an RBI groundout from Liz Kemp and a run-scoring triple from Kiara Hurt in the bottom of the first inning. 

After NCU scored five in the top of the second, Crown responded with a big half-inning of their own, scoring four to re-take the lead.  Abbey Underdahl and Kemp each provided two-run singles to account for the Storm's four runs.

When the Rams scored twice in the fourth to take a 7-6 lead, Crown came right back with two runs of their own.  This time a clutch, two-out, two-RBI single from Maliya Martinez put Crown back in front. 

NCU scored a single run in the top of the sixth to draw back even at 8-8, and once again, Crown responded immediately.

After Kemp opened the inning with a single and advanced to second on a groundout, Hurt delivered the big swing, homering to give Crown a two-run cushion.

Lindsay Glover, who had come on in relief of Abbie Carroll, was the pitcher of record and earned the win, recording the final three outs in the top of the seventh.

It was a balanced offensive effort, with seven player recording multiple hits for the Storm, led by 3-4 performances from Kemp and Hurt, and a 3-3 day at the plate for Glover.  Underdahl, Kemp, and Maria Lilienthal each scored twice, while Hurt led the team with three RBI and eight total bases. 

Game two featured more offense, with Crown jumping out early with a big bottom of the first.  After Ally Adams was brought home by an Underdahl single, Lilienthal hammered a three-run homer to stake Crown to an early 4-0 advantage. 

In similar fashion to game one, the opposing team answered back immediately, with the Rams adding four in the top of the second to even things up.

The Rams scored twice more in the top of the third, and despite a push from Crown, would hold onto that lead for the duration of the game.

Lilienthal doubled home Kemp in the third and Kemp scored Adams with a double in the seventh, but it would be a case of too-little, too late as NCU would take game two by a final of 9-6.
Kemp had three more hits in the loss and Lilienthal slugged a double and homer, collecting four RBI.  Ally Adams reached base twice and scored a pair of runs while Underdahl took the loss in game two, striking out five over five innings.

The Storm are back in action this week as they travel to Northland College for a Wednesday double-header.