JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Northeastern State is off to their best start to MIAA play since 2014 after completing a two-game sweep at Lincoln on Saturday afternoon.
Gail Young spun a one-hit shutout in a 7-0 win in game one and NSU's bats hammered out a season-high 18 hits in a 14-4 victory in the nightcap.
The RiverHawks have won four in a row and are now 5-1 in MIAA action and 14-11 overall. In 2014, NSU opened conference play 7-1, a year they reached the MIAA Tournament finals.
In the opener,
Addie Elbon plated a run in the first inning on a triple to center. Two innings passed before the RiverHawks struck again with five runs in the fourth. Elbon highlighted the frame with a two-run homer to right.
Haley Acrey,
Alyssia Crick, and
Cameron Conrad all also had an RBI in the frame.
NSU struck again in the sixth with Acrey hitting a two-out RBI single to put them up 7-0 on the Blue Tigers.
Gail Young (9-4) won her third decision in a row and matched her career best with eight strikeouts.
In game two, the RiverHawks plated three in the opening frame and two more in the second. Lincoln would score a run in the first three innings to stay within a pair of runs of the RiverHawks.
Alyssia Crick gave NSU an insurance run in the fifth with an RBI double to go up 6-3 on the Blue Tigers. An inning later, a Lincoln error plated two more for NSU and Conrad tripled to right center to give them a 9-3 lead.
Lincoln (4-16, 1-5 MIAA) trimmed the RiverHawks' lead by one in the bottom half of the sixth scoring a run on an error.
Northeastern State batted through the order in the seventh to bust the game open with five runs on three hits.
Kyla Ibarra highlighted the frame with a two-out triple to score two NSU runners.
All nine batters had a hit with
Alyssia Crick going 4-for-6 at the plate.
Madison Boyd and Conrad both had 3-for-4 games.
Sydney Balderrama (4-5) had a complete game with five strikeouts.
Northeastern State wraps up its Missouri swing with a visit on Sunday to Lindenwood for a 12 p.m. doubleheader.
