NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The University of Chicago softball team split a doubleheader at North Central College Tuesday night, winning Game 1 2-1 before faltering in the nightcap, 7-2. 

Colleen Bennett (three hits, home run, two RBI) and Katie O'Donnell (two hits, two RBI) led the offense and first-year Bethany Regnerus captured the win in the circle in the opener behind a solid pitching performance for the Maroons (6-8). 

UCHICAGO 2, NORTH CENTRAL 1
A defensive stand in the final inning sealed a tightly contested win for the Maroons in Tuesday's opener. First-year pitcher Bethany Regnerus finished the complete-game effort in exciting fashion, as she worked out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

A ground ball to second baseman Colleen Bennett was fielded cleanly and tossed to Carly Schulz at first for the game's final putout to give Regnerus the win. She gave up just one earned run on eight hits for the Cardinals, striking out three with three walks to improve to 4-2 on the year.

Fellow first-year Katie O'Donnell provided the clutch offense in the fifth, when the rookie connected for a two-RBI single with two outs to score Bennett (single) and Samantha Lauro (single).

North Central got its lone run in the sixth on an RBI-single from Samantha Godomski.

O'Donnell finished 2-for-2 with two RBI and Lauro, Gabi Angelotti, Maddy Mudrick and Bennett had singles for the Maroons.

NORTH CENTRAL 7, UCHICAGO 2 
An opener-inning flurry of three runs in the first for the host Cardinals (15-3) set the momentum in favor early and the Maroons weren't able to answer down the stretch in the nightcap loss. Three UChicago errors led to three runs for the Cardinals in the first before NCC added two more runs in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. UChicago's offense came alive in the fifth with two runs behind the bat of senior Colleen Bennet, who crushed her first home run of the season to score herself and first-year Savannah Pinedo (single). 

But that's all the offense could muster, as NCC starter Gianna Corban earned a complete-game win while allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out five. The Cardinals would add two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to complete the final score. 

Bennett finished 2-for-3 with her two-RBI home run and Pinedo was also 2-for-3 with a run scored and a double. 

Starter Jordyne Prussak took the loss in the circle for UChicago, through she only gave up one earned run while allowing seven hits in four innings pitched. 

NEXT GAME:

• Thursday, April 4: Carthage at UChicago (doubleheader), 3/5 PM