Storm’s late eruption earns split at Nebraska Wesleyan

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Simpson College softball team used a late explosion to take game two against Nebraska Wesleyan, earning a split over the doubleheader on Tuesday to open American Rivers Conference action.

The Prairie Wolves (16-10, 1-3 A-R-C) took game one after some costly errors from the Storm and some timely hitting, but the Storm (17-5, 1-1 A-R-C) came back from a three-run deficit in game two, using an eight-run inning to propel the team to its first conference win of the season.

Game One: Nebraska Wesleyan 8, Simpson 7

The Prairie Wolves took an early lead in the first inning, after drawing a pair of walks, followed by a two-run double to right center field.

The Storm would make the contest all square their next time up to bat, after a bloop fly ball by Alexis Ehlers landed fair, giving her a double and moving pinch runner Caroline Pellett to third. Megan Heidelbauer converted a successful squeeze play to score Pellett, before Obleton's sacrifice fly sent Ehlers home to tie the game at two runs a piece. However, Nebraska Wesleyan retook the lead after a Storm error with two outs on a ground ball.

The Prairie Wolves added another run in the bottom of the third and then opened the game up in the bottom of the fourth, after a two-run hit plus another single made the score 7-2.

The top of the fifth proved to be very fruitful for the Storm, loading the bases with one out. A wild pitch scored a run to cut the lead to 7-3, before Cameron Martin launched a three-run home run to center field, making the contest just a one-run game. The homer was Martin's third hit of the game, giving the Storm renewed momentum with two more frames to bat.

Martin continued her incredible game in the top of the seventh, with the Storm down to its last strike. Martin drove another ball into deep center field, landing over the fence and tying the game at seven. However, the Prairie Wolves got two runners on base and won with a walkoff single to left field, snapping the Storm's win streak.

Martin recorded a hit in all four of her plate appearances, including the pair of home runs. The Storm outhit the Prairie Wolves by one, 9-8, but committed four costly errors, combined with a couple timely hits from Nebraska Wesleyan.

Game Two: Simpson 13, Nebraska Wesleyan 6

The Prairie Wolves started strong again, turning a walk into an RBI via an infield hit. The Prairie Wolves threatened to score more, but Payton Ganzer dealt with a ball hit into the outfield, limiting the damage to just one run.

Both teams struggled to produce offense over the next couple of innings, highlighted by Caelynn Obleton and Maddie Luderman both making great defensive plays in the bottom of the second. The Prairie Wolves added another run to make it 2-0 after a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the third inning, but Heidelbauer saved it from becoming worse, making a nice catch in the outfield to get out of the inning.

The Storm found it more difficult to produce offense in game two in the early stretches and the Prairie Wolves added another run in the bottom of the fourth, extending the lead to 3-0.

The Storm finally got the offense going in the top half of the fifth, with Heidelbauer reaching and then Obleton beating out the throw on an attempted sacrifice bunt. Ashlyn Steen drew a walk to load the bases, but Nebraska Wesleyan responded with a massive strikeout. Luderman got the Storm's first run on the board with a sacrifice fly to center field, cutting the deficit to 3-1. With two runners still on base, Ehlers hammered a shot to left-center field, giving the Storm its first lead of the entire day.

Martin added a double with two outs, and after Pellett came in to pinch run again, Ganzer flared a hit just over the glove of the Prairie Wolves shortstop, scoring Pellett to give Simpson a 5-3 lead. The rally continued with a hit from Makayla Bryant, scoring Ganzer to extend the lead to 6-3. Heidelbauer, who led off the inning, came back up and delivered a stand up triple, tacking on another run for the Storm. Obleton's hit in the infield forced the second baseman to hurry the throw, committing an error and scoring Heidelbauer, giving the Storm an 8-3 lead.

In the top of the seventh, with the Storm leading 9-4 and the bases loaded, Luderman put the exclamation point on the game for the Storm, smashing a grand slam for her sixth home run of the year. The Prairie Wolves plated two more in the bottom of the seventh, but the Storm's late explosion earned the team a split.

The Storm hit four home runs on the day, with Luderman leading the team with five RBIs. Ehlers and Martin each added four RBIs as well.

Up Next

The Storm have a short turnaround, playing host to Grinnell in a doubleheader, starting at 3 p.m, Wednesday.