SAINT PAUL, Minn. – For the Yellowjacket softball team, everything they've done this season has built up to the final two weeks of the regular season, where they would face the two teams closest to them in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) standings – Northwestern and Bethany Lutheran.
 
This weekend, the Yellowjackets went south for a three-game series with Northwestern. The 'Jackets got the weekend off to a strong start with a 9-7 win Friday. Saturday, the going was a little bit tougher, but in the end the Yellowjackets won the series and remained in first place in the UMAC standings.

Saturday's opener was a dandy, as the pitchers dueled in the circle, but Northwestern strung enough hits together to eke out a 4-2 win. In the second game the Yellowjackets found their offense, pounding out 11 hits on the way to a 5-2 win to take the series 2-1.
 
The Yellowjackets (27-8, 14-1 UMAC) remain in first place in the conference, one game ahead of Bethany Lutheran, setting up a winner-take-all series with the Vikings next weekend in Superior.
 
Peyton Bennett (Harrisburg, S.D./Harrisburg) homered for the second day in a row, while Ellie Macal (Winona, Minn./Cotter) also homered in the second game, increasing her total to six for the year, tops on the Yellowjackets.
 
In the second game Saturday, Abby Mitchell (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) turned in a strong start in the circle, giving up two runs on five hits in six innings to improve to 5-1 on the year.
 
Game One Notes

• Offense was hard to come by early Saturday, with the teams playing scoreless through three innings. Northwestern opened the scoring with a single run in the bottom of the fourth and added two more in the bottom of the fifth.
• In the top of the sixth the Yellowjackets finally broke through.
• Zoe Thomson (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) started the rally with a one-out double. Macal followed with a walk to put two runners on. Camille Wikstrom (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown) came on to pinch run for Thomson.
• Baylee O'Donnell (Mendota Hights, Minn./Richfield) followed with a single to right center, bringing in Wikstrom with the first Yellowjacket run.
• Macal came in later in the inning with Carly Stuckmayer (Delano, Minn./Delano) singled through the left side.
• Northwestern got a run back in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-2 game.
• The 'Jackets got the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh, but they weren't able to manufacture any more runs.
• Bennett went 2-for-4, while Thomson also added a pair of hits.
• Bella Garley (Albuquerque, N.M./Porter (Tex.)) started in the circle and went four innings, allowing three runs on five hits. She walked one and struck out one. She was tagged with the loss, her record falling to 12-6 for the year.
• Samantha Swartz (Antigo, Wis./Antigo) pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on three hits.

Game Two Notes

• After a scoreless first the Yellowjackets opened the scoring in the top of the second when O'Donnell scored after Mitchell reached on an error.
• In the top of the third the Yellowjackets extended the lead on Bennett's second home run of the season.
• Northwestern got that run back in the bottom of the third.
• The Yellowjackets tacked on two more runs in the fourth. MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset) reached on an error to lead off the inning and scored on a Mitchell groundout.
• Karen Balabon (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) followed and she reached on an error, bringing in Stuckmayer.
• Northwestern cut the lead to 4-2 with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but Macal got that one back leading off the seventh, hitting a home run over the fence in right center to make the final score 5-2.
• Lily Hanson (Cloquet, Minn./Esko) led the Yellowjacket offense in the second game, going 3-for-4. Bennett and Stuckmayer had two hits each.
• After Mitchell's strong start Garley came on and pitched the seventh, setting the Eagles down in order to record her second save of the season.

The Yellowjackets will be back home for a non-conference series against St. Scholastica Tuesday afternoon. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.
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