Storm left to rue missed opportunities at Luther

DECORAH, Iowa - The Simpson College softball team was left to rue its missed opportunities after dropping a pair of games to nationally-ranked Luther on the road.

Despite five hits on the day from Steen, the Storm (20-12, 3-9 A-R-C) left 14 runners on base, seeing multiple chances to jump on the Norse (26-6, 5-3 A-R-C) slip. The Norse took advantage of a couple Simpson errors as well as using the long ball to get ahead in game one after escaping multiple innings.

Game One: Luther 4, Simpson 0
The Storm were the first to threaten in the top of the third, with Steen reaching base for the second time to leadoff an inning, both via Luther errors. Maddie Luderman connected with a single and with two outs, Megan Heidelbauer also hit a single, but Steen was thrown out at home, ending the inning and preserving the 0-0 tie for the Norse.

Despite not allowing a hit in the first two innings, the Storm were left to rue its missed chance, as the Norse used a one-out single to then score off a Simpson error with two outs in the bottom of the third. The Norse added to its lead in the next inning, hitting a two-run home run to extend the lead to 3-0. The Norse added another run to take a 4-0 advantage into the fifth.

The Storm were unable to threaten the Norse lead over the rest of the game, as the Norse claimed game one. Steen reached base twice on errors, while Heidelbauer also got on base with a single and a walk. The pitching duo of Makayla Bryant and Sierra Franklin surrendered just five hits and one walk the entire game, but the home run combined with a Simpson error that led to another run was too much for Simpson to overcome.

Game Two: Luther 5, Simpson 1
The Storm had a prime opportunity to open the scoring in the top of the first, with Steen and Alexis Ehlers both singling to begin the game. However, Luther pitcher Kendra Cooper, who pitched the whole first game as well, struck out the next three Simpson batters to get out of the jam.

Kylie Tucker and the Storm defense kept Luther off the board early again and in the top of the fourth, Simpson claimed its first lead of the day. Cameron Martin reached on an infield single to shortstop, with Caroline Pellett coming in as a pinch runner. Pellett stole second and advanced to third after a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Kate Kriegel singled to center field to give Simpson a 1-0 advantage.

However, the fourth inning proved to be an issue defensively again for the Storm when Luther came up to bat. The first two Luther batters reached base via a single and an error and despite the Storm getting the next batter out, the Norse used a single to score both runners, taking back the lead at 2-1. Despite a couple of pitching changes, the Norse's next four batters reached, leading to a pair of runs. The Storm finally got out of the inning after a sac fly made the score 5-1 heading into the fifth.

Heidelbauer and Kriegel attempted to get another two-out rally going for the Storm in the top of the sixth, with another two singles. However, while attempting a double steal, Luther gunned down Heidelbauer at third to escape the inning. The Storm attempted one last rally in the top of the seventh. Caelynn Obleton singled, followed by Steen hitting another single for her fourth hit of the game. Luderman singled to load the bases with two outs, but Luther got a pop up to end the game.

The Storm outhit the Norse in game two by a count of 11-7 and 14-12 across the two games, but left a total of 14 runners on base. The Norse played an error-free game in game two, while the Storm committed two. The Norse also allowed no runs to score as a result of the errors they made in game one. Steen went four-for-four in game two and while Luderman, Heidelbauer, and Kriegel all recorded two hits on the day.

Up Next
The Storm are back in action next Tuesday, hosting Monmouth in a doubleheader that has been rescheduled twice due to postponement.