CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Chicago softball team rallied back late in game one and then shutout North Park University in game two to earn the doubleheader sweep on Tuesday. The Maroons improved to 15-1 and the Vikings dropped to 8-10.

Game One – UChicago 11, North Park 9

North Park jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening two innings of the game. The Vikings stole home on a double steal to open the scoring and then smacked a three-run homer to make it 4-0 in the first inning. The visitors kept it up in the second with three more runs coming in on singles. Junior pitcher Tabbetha Bohac departed the game in the second inning with five hits, seven runs (three earned) and one strikeout.

Junior Emily Ashbridge threw four innings of relief from that point on and limited North Park to one run in the fifth inning. She struck out four batters and allowed three hits and three walks.

UChicago got back on the comeback trail starting in the third and fourth frames. Freshman infielder Anna Woolery reached on an error in the third and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch. Woolery then delivered a RBI single in the fourth, and she was immediately followed by senior outfielder Kaitlyn Carpenter's two-run double.

Time was running out for the Maroons, trailing 8-4 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. UChicago then caught fire offensively and put together a seven-run inning to take the lead. Senior third baseman Maddie McManus delivered a two-run double and then scored when the next batter, sophomore Jordan Poole, cranked a double of her own. Senior catcher Zoe Oliver-Grey delivered the biggest blow when she cracked a three-run homer to left field that put the home team up 10-8. Freshman outfielder Maggie O'Hara knocked in one more insurance run with a single to cap the comeback.

North Park managed a solo home run with two outs in the seventh inning. But it was not enough as Poole closed out the game to get the win and improve to 8-0. The sophomore tossed the final two innings with one hit, one run and one strikeout.

UChicago compiled 11 hits and one error in the game. Poole and O'Hara were both 2-for-3 with one RBI apiece. Junior outfielder Raechel Cloud was 2-for-4 at the plate and Oliver-Grey added three RBI.

Game Two – UChicago 5, North Park 0

The Vikings had no such luck offensively in game two. Poole (9-0) started the game in the pitching circle and shut North Park down for the entire seven innings. The sophomore allowed only three hits and one walk while fanning eight batters. She now has a team-best 63 strikeouts versus only 32 hits allowed in 56 innings of work.

UChicago only had six hits in the game, but the Maroons made them count. In the third inning, Cloud singled, stole second and scored on O'Hara's single up the middle. Sophomore outfielder Devan Parkison tallied a RBI single through the left side and Carpenter pushed the lead to 3-0 with a RBI groundout.

Sophomore first baseman Kathleen Kohm led off the fourth inning with a double, and Oliver-Grey got her home with a single to left center. McManus accounted for the final score with a RBI single up the middle.

NEXT GAMES:

• Saturday, Apr. 12 – North Central College at UChicago (DH), Noon