Seventh inning homer brings Cardinal victory

After two full games that almost went into the evening, the Cardinal ladies balled a 1-1 game against Community College of Spokane.
NIC started off the double-header slow on offense, but managed to pick up their performance for the second game of the five-hour dual.
The Community College of Spokane proved to be a tough team for the Cardinals. In the first inning, Spokane put up what would be the only two points of the entire first game.
The Cardinals managed to grab bases several times, but went three and out before any of the players managed to hit home in the first game of the double-header.
Some of the NIC players reiterated the fact that the first game was a game that, they should have won and had played more defensively.
In the second game, the Cardinals were finally able to put on a show and make their way on the scoreboard with a boost from coach Don Don Williams.

Freshman Analisa Rayner slides face-first safely into third base. Katie Hartwig/Sentinel

Williams encouraged the team to start playing smarter, as there were some errors and runs scored by the other team that could have been avoided.
The teams were back and forth in the fight for the scoreboard until the very end of the second game.
By the fifth inning, Spokane was ahead 3-1.  NIC freshman Jamie Yurich brought in a homerun, immediately followed by freshman Abby Howard, bringing the score to 4-3.
By the seventh inning, Spokane brought in another few runs making it a 4-6 game.
In their last chance effort of the seventh inning, The Cardinals brought in a few solid base hits that brought in runs tying the game at 6-6.
With two on base, and a hopeful hometown crowd cheering everyone waited in anticipation as sophomore Chloe McIntosh came up to bat.
McIntosh approached the plate as evening began to set in upon the game and after a few pitches, she managed to crack a home run and bring in the 9-6 win for the ladies.
The matches against Community College of Spokane bring the softball team to an 11-3 record in the conference and 17-5 overall for the season.
The team will only have four more home games this season, all of which will be double-headers.
With the roadwork on Mullan Road, all remaining home games will be played on the field at Lake City High School rather than Memorial Field.