MILWAUKEE - St. Norbert College sophomore
Paige Diercks hit four home runs to lift the Green Knights to wins of 13-4 and 15-4 over Alverno College in a pair of Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference at Alverno Softball Field.
Diercks hit a pair of home runs in each game and went 6-for-6 on the day with seven runs scored and eight runs batted in.
The Green Knights scored four runs in the top of the first inning of the opener, with three scoring on a home run by Diercks and the fourth on an error. The Inferno countered with three runs in the bottom of the first. St. Norbert pulled away with five runs in the top of the third inning.
Zoe Zasada drove in two runs on a single,
Nicole Condon plated two more on a single and
Allison Ardito had an RBI single.
St. Norbert scored one in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Diercks. The Green Knights added three runs in the fifth, with runs scoring on RBI grounders by
Lilly Haase and
Christina Paleka. Alverno scored a run in the bottom of the fifth.
The Green Knights had 11 hits. Diercks was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and four RBI. Paleka was 2-for-4, while Zasada drove in three runs.
Addison Race earned the win, allowing four hits with two walks and five strikeouts in four innings pitched.
In the nightcap, St. Norbert scored four runs in the top of the second.
Hannah Worachek had an RBI triple to drive in two runs, while Ardito had an RBI double. The Green Knights scored twice in the third inning, with Paleka and Worachek each posting RBI doubles. Alverno scored three runs in the bottom of the third and one in the fourth to cut the deficit to 6-4.
St. Norbert scored twice in the fifth on a Diercks two-run home run. The Green Knights added two more in the sixth on an
Elizabeth Stuebs RBI double and a Haase RBI single. St. Norbert put the game away with five runs in the seventh. Stuebs had another run-scoring double, Haase a two-run single and Diercks another two-run home run.
St. Norbert banged out 16 hits. Diercks was 3-for-3 with four runs scored and four RBI. Haase was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. Paleka and Worachek were 2-for-4, while Ardito and Stuebs were each 2-for-5. Stuebs also earned the win, allowing nine hits with eight strikeouts in six innings pitched.
