Saturday, April 11 @ 12 pm & 2 pm | Sunday, April 12 @ 12 pm & 2 pm

Alverno College vs. St. Norbert College (4/11) & at Benedictine University (4/12)

Alverno Inferno (2-16, 0-6) | St. Norbert Green Knights (11-13, 3-5) | Benedictine Eagles (19-5, 9-3)

Alverno Softball Field (Milwaukee, Wis.) on 4/11 | Heidkamp Field (Lisle, Ill.) on 4/12

April 11th Links - Live Stats & Live Video | April 12th Links – Live Stats & Live Video

** All records and statistics are as of Friday, April 10th **

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Alverno College softball team continues with Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) play this weekend, hosting St. Norbert College on Saturday, April 11^th, before traveling to Benedictine University on Sunday, April 12^th.
 
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN:
Saturday, April 11^th at Alverno Softball Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – St. Nobert vs. Alverno at 12 & 2 pm

Sunday, April 12^th, at Heidkamp Field in Lisle, Illinois – Alverno at Benedictine at 12 & 2 pm

OPPONENT HISTORY:
St. Norbert leads the all-time series 7-1.
After the Inferno picked up their first win against the Green Nights in 2024, St. Norbert swept last year's doubleheader against Alverno in De Pere, Wisconsin. The two teams first met in 2022, as the Green Nights officially joined the conference in July of 2021, making Spring 2022 its first Spring in the NACC.

Benedictine leads the all-time series 37-1.
The Eagles, who lead the NACC with seven tournament championships and are routinely a playoff team in the conference, have dominated the all-time series against the Inferno. Benedictine has won 17 straight games against Alverno, with the Inferno's lone victory over the Eagles coming in 2016. Olivia Schneider threw a complete game shutout in the win, as Benedictine went on to win the NACC tournament championship.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
St. Norbert College Green Nights – 2026 Record: 11-13, 3-5 NACC | 2025 Record: 9-30, 8-15 NACC
The Green Nights have already surpassed their 2025 win total and look to be much improved from last season. They have split NACC doubleheaders against Wisconsin Lutheran, Concordia Chicago, and Benedictine, while getting swept by Aurora.
St. Norbert is led by arguably the best hitter in the conference in Grendel Sprong. She currently has the second-highest batting average in the NACC, as she is hitting .515 with three homers, seven doubles, and two triples. She has also driven in 21 runs and carries an .809 slugging percentage. Elly Kirst is also having a great season thus far, with a .385 batting average and eight extra-base hits.

In the circle, the team has yet to find a standout arm, as the Green Knights' ERA is ahead of only Alverno in the conference leaderboards. Addison Luebke has the team's lowest ERA and leads in most of the main pitching categories. She has recorded a 5.05 ERA in 51.1 innings despite just three games started and has a 5-4 record, two complete games, and a save.

The Green Knights lead the conference in strikeouts at the plate by nearly 15 strikeouts, as the team is prone to swings and misses in the batter's box.

Benedictine University Eagles – 2026 Record: 19-5, 5-3 NACC  | 2025 Record: 31-15, 16-8
The Eagles look to be a very good team so far this season, but have not yet shown that strength in conference play, as they split doubleheaders with Wisconsin Lutheran, Aurora, and St. Norbert, but swept Concordia Chicago. They will take on preseason NACC favorite Concordia Wisconsin on Saturday before hosting Alverno on Sunday.

Benedictine boasts a strong and potent offense, with four starters hitting over .400 and eight of their main starting nine hitting over. 300. Haley Barnes has been a top hitter in the NACC so far this year, with four homers and nine doubles to go along with a .500 batting average. She also has driven in 35 runs, the same amount as Alyssa Perkins, who has three homers, eight doubles, and a .463 batting average for the Eagles. Morgan Bruno also has been a force at the plate, hitting .488, while Lauren Bogard is hitting .408.

Behind the league's best offense is a strong group of three arms in the rotation, with McKenzie Johnson the driving force in the circle. She has eight wins and eight complete games, accumulating 74 innings and striking out 72 batters in 15 appearances. Morgan Magnabosco, who has a 2.80 ERA, has mostly pitched out of the bullpen, while Claire Stillwell has been a solid arm with a 4.28 ERA in 34.1 innings.

The Eagles lead the conference with a .381 team batting average and have scored the most runs in the league, scoring 59 more runs than the next best team.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE INFERNO:
 The Alverno College softball team picked up its first wins of the 2026 season on Tuesday afternoon, sweeping a non-conference doubleheader against Maranatha Baptist at Alverno Softball Field. The Inferno rolled to a 16-1 victory in game one before completing the sweep with a 12-1 win in game two.

Alverno's offense came alive across both contests, combining for 28 runs while showing patience at the plate and capitalizing on opportunities throughout the day. Multiple players contributed in both games, as the Inferno earned their first victories of the season convincingly. While earning plenty of wins in his time as a high school coach in the Milwaukee area, the wins over Maranatha Baptist were the first of Shawn Grimm's collegiate coaching career on Tuesday afternoon.

Sophomore Gianna Medrano (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge) drove in five runs across both games, tallying two hits, while fellow sophomore Nadya Hudson (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa East) drove in four runs in the game one win. Senior Hailie Eschbach (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) drove in four runs and had two hits in the pair of wins for the Inferno.

INFERNO TO WATCH:
Hudson is all over the NACC leaderboards in her first 18 games with the Inferno, posting the league's 10th-best batting average (.478), fifth-best slugging percentage (,783), the third-best on-base percentage (.579), and the third-best on-base plus slugging percentage (1.362). She ranks 10^th in the league with eight doubles and is seventh in the league with 11 walks.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Alverno's .418 on-base percentage ranks second in the conference despite being sixth in the league in walks. The team has been hit 24 times this year, five more times than the next team. That mark is tied for 12^th nationally, nine off the lead of 33 by Ozarks and Wittenberg.
 
UP NEXT:
The Inferno return to action next weekend, traveling to Lakeland on Saturday, April 18, and then host Concordia Chicago for Senior Day on Sunday, April 19.