MILWAUKEE, Wis. - After a good start this season in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play, the Rockford University softball team has hit a bit of a rough stretch over the past week dropping six straight games. During that stretch Rockford has not been able to put together a complete game in order to secure a victory. That trend would continue on Monday as the Regents dropped both of their games to the Alverno College Inferno by finals of 7-4 and 9-4.
Game one got off to a great start as the Regents jumped out to an early lead but were simply not able to hold onto it. Senior Jessica Bjerning (Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein) began the game with a leadoff single. Two batters later, freshman Stefaney Kenworthy (Veedersburg, Ind./Fountain Central) narrowly missed a home run but was still able to drive in Bjerning with a sacrifice fly. The Regents then strung together a trio of hits capped off by a Sarah Moritz (Heyworth, Ill./Heyworth) RBI single to put Rockford up 2-0 after one inning. The second inning also got off to an excellent start as Maranda Walker (Rockford, Ill./Boylan) put herself into scoring position when she ripped a leadoff double to the wall. After a sacrifice bunt moved Walker to third base, Bjerning then made it a 3-0 lead on an RBI groundout. Rockford was however unable to retain its lead as the Inferno came blazing back to score the next seven runs including a four-run sixth inning and a two-run fifth inning to leap to a 7-3 lead. The Regents did tack on a run in the seventh inning but it was not enough as Rockford lost by a 7-4 final.
Game two followed a similar pattern as the Regents scored first to take the early lead only to see the Inferno use multiple big innings to win the game. Just like in game one, Jessica Bjerning began the game with single and scored Rockford's first run of the game, this time thanks to an Alverno error. However, Alverno answered right back in the bottom half of the inning with three runs to take a 3-1 advantage. The two teams would go back-and-forth each scoring runs over the next few innings. Stefaney Kenworthy and Lisa Blakeley-Snyder (Rockford, Ill./Winnebago) each drove in a run for Rockford in the third inning to tie the game at three. The Inferno then answered back with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to once again regain the lead. The Regents fired right back in the top of the fourth inning with a single run to cut the Inferno advantage back down to one run. Senior Jessica Bjerning recorded her first RBI of the game when she drove in Maranda Walker who led off the inning with a double to make it 5-4. However, that would be as close as Rockford would get for the remainder of the game as the Inferno scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the bottom of the sixth to secure the 9-4 victory.
The softball team returns to the field on Thursday, April 24th at Maranatha Baptist University. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 3:00 p.m.
