Box Score The Benedictine University softball team competed in the opening day of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon. After sixth-seeded Edgewood Colelge won earlier in the day to set-up a matchup against second-seeded Benedictine, BenU defeated Edgewood 11-0.

After a quiet first inning, Benedictine exploded in the second for five runs. Melissa Stoch drove in Holly Haberkorn on a double to start the scoring after a Courtney Grasz sacrafice bunt. Three batters later, Chelsea White singled him two runs to build the lead to 3-0. Sarah Koch then drove in two runs of her own on a single to cap the second inning scoring.

In the fourth, BenU would score six more. The inning began with singles from Kelsey Jefferies, Jenna Boyajian. After a flyout, White singled home both Jefferies and Boyajian. Two batters later, Kailee Cable doubled home another run. Haberkorn would record an RBI single later in the inning before Stoch drove home two more on a double to build the lead to 11.

Haberkorn would make quick work of Edgewood for msot of the game, as the BenU starter held Edgewood to just two hits an one walk in a complete game, five-inning shutout. At the plate, Benedictine totaled 14 hits. White, Cable, Haberkorn, Stoch, and Jefferies each contributed two hits. White led the team with four RBI, while Stoch drove in three.

The win sets up a showdown between the conference's top two seeds on Friday, as BenU will oppose top-seeded Aurora University on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The winner will play at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, while the loser will play at 9:00 a.m. and must win to avoid elimination. Live audio, video, and statistics will be available for the entire tournament at http://athletics.alverno.edu/sports/sball/tournament/schedule.