ALLEN, Texas – Northwest opened the 2023 softball season with a split against Jarvis Christian, falling in the opener 3-1 before taking a 9-2 decision in the second game.
 
The Eagles had two hits in the opener, both by Emily Barry. Barry legged out an infield single and added a solo home run.
 
NU held the Bulldogs to four hits and allowed one earned run. Sydney Maurer took the loss and Bella King finished in the circle with two no-hit innings.
 
King continued that mastery as the starting pitcher in the second game, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning before yielding two runs on a hit and three walks in the sixth. Natalie Dimitrov closed out the game with 1.2 no-hit innings.
 
The Eagles scored in the first inning when Madisyn Leffle singled, stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Leffle then set the tone defensively with a diving catch in center field in the bottom of the first.
 
Northwest went ahead 3-0 in the third when Barry tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jamelah Lewis, followed by an RBI single from Olivia Brown.
 
Maurer tripled and scored on a home run by Lewis and Brown added an RBI double for a 6-0 lead in the fifth.
 
NU added its final three runs in the seventh on a three-run home run by Maurer.
 
Maurer finished the game with three hits, Brown and Barry added two, and Leffle Lewis, King, Dimitrov and Sarah Anderson added one each.
 
"I was proud of how we responded after that first loss and didn't give up at the plate," said NU Head Coach Pam Fink. "We pushed back strong and it's good to see that this early."
 
The NAIA Winter Classic continues on Friday with the Eagles playing Texas Wesleyan at 12:30 p.m., Central.