Jenny Lemmerman, Director of Marketing and Communications, (402) 426-7216

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2008

Blair, Nebraska ~ The Viking softball team won two and lost two over the weekend.  All four games this weekend were moved to Blair instead of the away sites due to weather in Orange City, Iowa and Mitchell, South Dakota.  Dana lost a pair of games to Northwestern 5-0 and 4-2.  They rebounded on Sunday to sweep Dakota Wesleyan 8-0 and 5-2.

The opening game saw the Red Raiders pound out 12 hits and score five runs.  Their pitching limited Dana to only three hits.  Maggie Downs (SR, St. Charles, IA), Paige Brune (JR, Dodge, NE), and Brianne Nutty (SO, Omaha, NE) each had one hit for the Vikings on the afternoon.  Brune had a double for the lone Viking extra base hit.  Cassie Lager (SR, Missouri Valley, IA) pitched five innings and suffered the loss.  She gave up four runs on ten hits.  Ashley Jess (SR, Monroe, IA) pitched the final inning giving up one run on two hits.

In game two, the Vikings took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning.  The Vikings scored single runs in the fourth and fifth inning.  Josie Barrow (SR, Woodward, IA) reached on a fielder’s choice and then stole second base.  Abby Fredrich (FR, Omaha, NE) pinch ran for Barrow.  Paige Brune slapped a double to right field to score Fredrich.  Whitney Newsham (FR, Ashland, NE) hit a single to left field in the fifth inning.  Lindy Bohlmann (JR, Denison, IA) doubled to center field, which scored Newsham.  Northwestern took control of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.  The Red Raiders capitalized on three Viking errors and four hits to put four runs up on the board.  Northwestern then quieted the Dana bats in the top of the seventh for the win.  Brianne Nutty pitched five inning and took the loss.  Nutty allowed four runs on seven hits.  Mindy Schoop (JR, Johnston, IA) pitched the final inning and allowed no hits.

Dana rebounded on Sunday to sweep Dakota Wesleyan.  In game one, Dana used nine hits to score eight runs.  The Vikings put four runs up on the board in the top of the first.  Maggie Downs led the game off with a walk.  TJ Beeman and Josie Barrow each singled to load the bases.  Paige Brune cleared the bases with a grand slam home run.  Dana added two more runs in the third inning.  Beeman singled and advanced to third on a Josie Barrow single.  Beeman scored on a Brianne Nutty single.  Abby Fredrich pinch ran for Nutty.  She scored when Whitney Newsham reached on an error by the DWU shortstop.  The Vikings put up single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to end the game on the conference eight run rule.  TJ Beeman was a perfect three for three with two runs scored and an RBI.  Joseie Barrow and Brianne Nutty each had two hits.  Melena Selzle (JR, Ashland, NE), Newsham, and Brune each had one hit.  Cassie Lager pitched a complete game, three hit shut-out over the Tigers for the win.

Dana capped a perfect Sunday afternoon with a 4-2 win in the second game.  The Vikings put up two runs in the third and fourth innings.  TJ Beeman got things going for Dana in the third inning with a single.  She then scored on a Josie Barrow double.  Megan Gerdes (SO, Treynor, IA) pinch ran for Barrow.  Gerdes came around to score as Paige Brune singled.  Selzle opened the Viking scoring threat in the fourth inning with a walk.  A Maggie Downs’ single moved Selzle into scoring position.  TJ Beeman drove Selzle home with a single, which also put Downs in scoring position.  Barrow doubled to move TJ Beeman to third and score Downs.  Four runs were more than enough for Mindy Schoop who picked up the win.  Schoop pitched a complete game allowing two runs on five hits.

Dana is now 19-16 overall and 13-9 in conference play.  The Vikings play their last regular season game on Tuesday against Dordt College.  They will know their position in the conference tournament upon the completion of games on Tuesday night.  Hastings College will play host to this year’s GPAC tournament scheduled to start on Thursday.

Stats for game 1 vs. Northwestern:        http://www.dana.edu/softball/stats08/dannor1.htm

Stats for game 2 vs. Northwestern:        http://www.dana.edu/softball/stats08/dannor2.htm

Stats for game 1 vs. Dakota Wesleyan: http://www.dana.edu/softball/stats08/dandwu1.htm

Stats for game 2 vs. Dakota Wesleyan: http://www.dana.edu/softball/stats08/dandwu2.htm

For more information, please contact Shad Beam, Sports Information Director at sbeam@dana.edu.