MILWAUKEE – With a combined five runs in the firth and sixth innings, second-seeded Aurora University finally located enough offensive power to put away No. 6 Marian University, 6-4, in the second and final game of the day in a waterlogged day two of Northern Athletics Conference Tournament play at Alverno Field.
The Spartans (33-7) took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a solo shot by freshman Tristan Wilcox (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon), but the Sabres’ sophomore right-hander, Cherise Waltz (South Byron, Wis./Oakfield), managed to regain control to keep Aurora’s hitters off-balance through three more scoreless frames until the fifth.
The bats seemed to heat up for both teams in that inning despite the damp, chilly playing conditions as Marian (21-20) broke the shutout by piling on four runs on three hits in the top of the fifth. Senior Amy Malcore (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) initiated the first two of those four runs with a 2 RBI double to right center, scoring freshman Emilie Jansen (Kaukauna, Wis.), who reached on an infield single, and senior Emily Wiesman (Sheboygan, Wis./South), who took advantage of a walk. Senior Maria Archie (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) then called up visions of yesterday’s power-batting performance in the Sabres’ win over Dominican University, blasting yet another key 2 RBI home run for the 4-1 advantage.
But Aurora answered right back with three runs of their own on just one hit. Waltz, who threw all seven innings of yesterday’s game to great success, appeared to finally wear down in the bottom of the fifth at the hands of a merciless Spartan offense. Two of the Spartans runs reached on walks with Wilcox sending one of them home with an RBI double while another scored from third on a wild pitch.
Aurora’s go-to pitcher, senior Anna Snyder (Grayslake, Ill.), regained her composure following Marian’s four-run outburst, finishing off the game with two spotless frames.
The Spartans’ offense continued to bear down on Waltz, forcing Marian to make a pitching change to junior Jenna Whitehead (Kimberly, Wis.) after two consecutive pinch-hitters came up with clutch hits for a pair of RBI. Freshman Stephanie Lynch (Naperville, Ill./Central) was the first with an RBI double followed by an RBI single by sophomore Jessica Nichols (Mattoon, Ill.).
Whitehead found the final two outs of the inning, but the Sabres were unable to find enough hits for one final flare-up on offense as the Spartans made three impressive catches in the outfield for the final outs of the game.
Wilcox led the Spartan offense with a 2-for-4, 2 RBI effort while junior Shannon Starr (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park) reached on singles in both her at-bats.
Snyder picked up the win in a full seven innings of work in the circle, despite giving up eight hits and being tagged with a rare four earned runs for a pitcher sporting a 1.48 ERA heading into today’s game. She also fanned six batters to improve to 21-5 on the season.
Malcore and Archie led the Sabres’ offensive drive with two RBI apiece with Malcore going 2-for-3 at the plate. Waltz was pinned with the loss, allowing seven hits with six earned runs and two punch-outs in 5.1 innings.
Due to the majority of today’s games being pushed back as a result of Friday morning’s rain showers, Aurora will have to wait to face top-seeded Benedictine University until 3 p.m. tomorrow while Marian will play No. 5 Concordia University Wisconsin in the first game of the day at 9 a.m., which is a must-win for both teams in order to avoid elimination. To view the updated NAC Tournament game schedule, please click here.
