MONTGOMERY, Ill. (naccsports.org) --- The 2024 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Softball Tournament got underway Thursday at Bedrosian Stadium, but persistent rain during the afternoon allowed only two of four scheduled games to be played.

In the opening game, fifth-seeded Benedictine University edged eighth-seeded Edgewood College, 1-0. Sixth-seeded Marian University followed with a 2-1 win over No. 7-seed Milwaukee School of Engineering.

No. 5 Benedictine 1, No. 8 Edgewood 0
The lone run of the game came in the first inning as Morgan Bruno stole home as part of a double steal attempt with two outs when Haley Barnes was able to remain in a rundown between first and second bases just long enough to allow Bruno to score.

Edgewood's best opportunity to score came in the sixth inning when Elizabeth Malarski hit a one-out triple to left-center field. A fly-out and a ground out followed, however, stranding the would-be tying run 60 feet away.

Bella Lodico got the win in the circle for Benedictine, scattering three hits and a walk while striking out five in a complete-game effort. Mia Giammarese hit a double for Benedictine, while Barnes drew a pair of walks. Bruno drew a walk and stole two bases from her leadoff spot.

Grace Pustina took the hard-luck loss, allowing just two hits and three walks over six innings.

No. 6 Marian 2, No. 7 MSOE 1
Marian challenged MSOE starter Katie Pollock early with five hits over the first three innings but would not push a run across until the fourth inning when Savanna Knuth launched a Pollock delivery over the fence in left-center field.

MSOE, which had earlier stranded a runner at third base in the second inning, responded in the fifth as Jocelyn Clodi reached on a one-out walk, then moved around to score courtesy of a sacrifice bunt, a Marian error, and a wild pitch. The Raiders were unable to take the lead, stranding runners on the corners in the frame.

After working around a one-out single in the top of the seventh, Marian opened the bottom of the seventh with a triple off the bat of Evelynn Spaeth that fell just out of the reach of MSOE centerfielder Faith Matta. Knuth then drew a walk and stole second. Pollock was able to strike out Abigail Schreiber for the first out of the inning, but Erin Cowe deposited a ball just out of reach of a drawn-in infield to score Spaeth and end the game.

Cowe and Katelyn Matenaer had two hits apiece to lead the Sabres, who finished with eight hits. Clodi's double highlighted the MSOE offensive effort, which was limited to four hits.

Pollock took the loss in a complete-game effort, allowing two earned runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out three in 6-1/3 innings.

A quartet of Marian pitchers combined to allow just one run on four hits and a walk. Knuth was perfect over the final 1-2/3 innings to pick up the win.

Two additional elimination games scheduled for Thursday were moved to Friday morning due to the weather. Benedictine will face No. 4-seed Aurora at 11 a.m., while Marian will play No. 3-seed Concordia Wisconsin at 1:30 p.m.

The winners of the two early games advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament, which will begin as scheduled at 4 p.m. with No. 1 Dominican facing the Aurora-Benedictine winner. The day will close with No. 2 Lakeland meeting the CUW-Marian winner at 6:30 p.m.

2024 NACC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
At Montgomery, Ill.
(Bedrosian Stadium)
Thursday, May 9
Single-Elimination
Game A - No. 5 Benedictine def. No. 8 Edgewood, 1-0 (Edgewood eliminated)
Game B - No. 6 Marian def. No. 7 MSOE, 2-1 (MSOE eliminated)

Friday, May 10
Single-Elimination
Game C - No. 5 Benedictine vs. No. 4 Aurora, 11 a.m.
Game D - No. 6 Marian vs. No. 3 Concordia Wisconsin, 1:30 p.m.
Double-Elimination
Game 1 - Game C winner vs. No. 1 Dominican, 4 p.m.
Game 2 - Game D winner vs. No. 2 Lakeland, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 11
Game 3 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (elimination game), 11 a.m.
Game 4 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser (elimination game), 4 p.m.

Sunday, May 12
Game 6 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, noon
Game 7 - Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 2:30 p.m., if necessary

Tournament champion receives NACC's automatic berth in the 2024 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.