Morningside concludes impressive 5-1 week

ORANGE CITY, IOWA – A 14-hit game one attack, heavily fueled by the bat of junior Sydney Petersen (Omaha, Neb.), lifted Morningside University to a Great Plains Athletic Conference split Saturday, April 23.

In addition to a white-hot .428 stretch she's been on since game two against Dakota State, Petersen smashed a pair of doubles and drove in three runs for head coach Jessica Jones-Sitzmann's squad. She wasn't the only one getting a healthy attack at the host Northwestern College Red Raider pitching staff.

Fellow junior Taylor Richter (Rock Valley, Iowa) drove in two more, and freshman Ellie Gengler (Sioux City, Iowa) crushed a pinch-hit three-run double to add to the offensive cavalcade. Seniors Lexie Stolen (Sioux City, Iowa), Morgan Nixon (Omaha, Neb.), and Mykel Ann Gray (Ames, Iowa) also turned in multiple-hit outings.

Those bullet points were more than enough to give senior pitcher Katherine Wurtz (Omaha, Neb.) plenty of room to fire strikes. She did just that striking out five over five frames en route to a 13-2, five-inning decision.

Looking to extend their league and overall win streak to 10, Morningside was brushed aside by a sixth-inning tally from the hosts in a 4-3 defeat. Stolen blasted a bases-clearing double in the top of the frame to tie the contest. Freshman hurler Grace Buffington (Gretna, Neb.) fell to 13-5, as NWC starter Katie Kralik didn't allow much visiting offense, except for the sixth inning, tallying nine strikeouts.

Morningside (25-12, 11-6 GPAC) closes out their regular season overall and conference road schedule Monday, April 25. They visit the College of Saint Mary for a 3 p.m. doubleheader.