March 8

Box Score

After Purdue University-North Central tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, Northland College took advantage of two costly errors in the eighth to come away with a 5-2 win on the final day of the Tucson Invitational in Tucson, AZ.

Neither starting pitcher allowed a hit in the first three innings with the Panthers' Bethany Toyias facing the minimum.  Outside of two errors the Jills' overcame in the second inning, Brittany Schmitt also did not allow a baserunner.

Karen Harnisch broke up the no-hit bid with a leadoff double in the fourth for Northland (3-7), but was stranded.  In the bottom of the inning, the Panthers scored an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead.

After going quietly in the fifth, the Jills got the leadoff batter on again after a walk to Tiffany Datko.  After a popout, Harnisch hit her first homreun of the year to give the LumberJills a 2-1 lead.

In the seventh, Purdue University-North Central got a single and walk with one out.  After a fielder's choice forced the trail runner at second, the Panthers got a two-out game-tying single from Jessica Brannagan.

When a game goes into extra innings according to international rules, the batter who made the last out the previous inning starts at second base.  Schmitt was that runner in this case and advanced to third on an error by Purdue University-North Central's third baseman.  After a strikeout, she scored on another error, this one by relief pitcher Kate Golden.  After another strikeout, Stephanie Langfeldt gave Northland two big insurance runs after her two-run double.  Schmitt, despite the leadoff runner placed at second, retired the Panthers in order to end the game.

Both teams were only able to collect five hits with Harnisch being the only player to have more than one.  Schmitt tossed eight innings, allowing the two runs, with only one earned.  She walked one and struck out three.  Toyias and Golden combined to strike out 13 Jills between the two of them.