Softball Upsets No. 10 Northwestern to Open GPAC Tournament

Softball opened the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Tournament on Wednesday afternoon in Orange City, Iowa, taking on top seed and NAIA No. 10 Northwestern. The Tigers played a flawless game and delivered the first upset of the conference tournament, topping the Red Raiders, 1-0.

Doane was held without a base runner into the fifth inning before Milannie Gonzalez picked up the team's first hit. Despite the slow start offensively, the Tigers received strong defense behind pitcher Faith Molina. In the third inning, Northwestern had a runner at third base with one out but a line drive was caught by Marisa Marquez at third base and she stepped on the bag to turn a double play. In the fourth inning, the Red Raiders had two in scoring position with one out but a popout and strikeout ended the inning.

The Tigers broke the scoreless tie in the sixth inning. Jeryn Allen was hit by a pitch with one out and was sacrificed to second base to give Doane's their first runner in scoring position in the game. Jasmine Villegas followed and hit the ball into left-center field where the left fielder made a diving attempt to make the catch but was unsuccessful. The double by Villegas plated Allen for the lead.

Molina shutdown the Red Raiders the rest of the way, not allowing a base runner over the final two innings. She went 7.0 shutout innings, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out three batters.

Doane had three hits in the game, two from Gonzalez and one from Villegas. Molina drew the team's only walk.

Next up for the Tigers will be a winner's bracket game against either Dakota Wesleyan or Concordia at approximately 4 PM.