Sioux Center, Iowa – The Friends University Falcons staved off elimination on Tuesday (May 13) with a 2-1 win over the University of Northwestern (Ohio) Racers before later falling 5-1 to the Baker University Wildcats in another elimination game in the NAIA Opening Round in Sioux Center, Iowa.
The Falcons used small ball to get on the board against Northwestern when Tamara Lozoya reached on a bunt single, stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the fourth.
After an RBI double by Cecilia Campbell tied the game in the fifth, the Falcons plated the eventual game-winning run when courtesy runner Angelina Mendoza scored off an error in the bottom of the fifth.
That was enough for Riley Wertz to finish off the win and keep the Falcons' season alive. She stranded two runners in the sixth and then retired the Racers in order in the seventh.
Wertz struck out four with one walk and one run allowed over seven innings.
The Falcons then ran into a buzzsaw against Baker pitcher Kira Baker, who struck out 11 and walked just one in seven innings.
RBI singles by Ava Greiner in the first and Savannah Bray in the second contributed to an early 3-0 Baker lead.
It was a 4-0 deficit before the Falcons got on the board with an RBI single by Jayden Estabrook in the bottom of the fifth.
Pinch hitter Madi Ball then singled in Bray in the seventh to put it away for the Wildcats.
Bray went 4-4 with two runs scored to lead Baker offensively.
In the final outing of her star-studded career, Wertz lasted seven innings with two earned runs allowed.
The Falcons, making their second consecutive NAIA Opening Round appearance and fourth in head coach Suzanne Unruh's seven-year tenure, end the season at 37-15 for the program's most wins since 2013.
