April 5, 2001

Northern State put together an exciting three-run rally in the seventh inning to force extra play, but Mary responded in the eighth to upend NSU 5-3 in the second game of the teams' doubleheader at Manor Park in Aberdeen Thursday. Mary won the first game 5-2.

The Wolves (2-10) erased a 3-0 hole in the seventh with a laced single by junior right fielder Nicole Osborn (Redfield) scoring freshman pinch runner Lindsey Lewis. Sophomore pitcher Amy Gurney (Yankton) and junior first baseman Jodi Klett (Eagan, Minn.) drove in runs earlier in the inning to set up Osborn.

Mary answered with a lead-off home run by junior shortstop Kodi Kooiman, which scored not only her but also the automatic runner placed at second at the beginning of the eighth inning, per NCAA II extra-inning softball rules.

In the first game, freshman pitcher Carin Rambow (Litchfield, Minn.) saw the first collegiate mound action of her career after a successful first year with NSU's basketball team and responded by getting the Wolves out of a jam. She came into the game in the fifth inning, with runners on first and second and one out. Rambow retired two out of the next three batters and the Wolves escaped the inning. Fellow freshman and third baseman Kacie Weatherly (Pipestone, Minn.) also highlighted the first game for NSU, going 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

The doubleheader, played at what was likely the only dry field in Aberdeen at Manor Park, served as Northern's home opener.

NSU, which was scheduled to play in the NSIC Crossover in Marshall, Minn., this weekend, will not. The crossover was canceled due to field conditions. Stay tuned to NSU's website for the possibility of make-up games for this weekend.