By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – A nine inning first game ended in favor of visiting St. Joseph Tuesday night at Vella Park.
St. Joseph's Desiree Carolla's infield single in the top of the ninth allowed the Bears to claim the 1-0 Big 16 West Division win over the Vikings.
"We're struggling big time offensively and I'm hoping we can get our bats going real soon," Lady Vikes coach Jim Arnold said.
Sara Cobb picked up the win on the mound in the first game, while Jenna Ignowski suffered the loss. Ignowski threw 17 strikeouts and allowed just one walk. Cobb had five strikeouts and no walks.
The score in game two was also 1-0, only this time it was in favor of the Vikes.
Third baseman Shelley Aurand's RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth allowed Niles to score the only run of the game. The Vikes held on for three more innings and claimed the victory.
Ignowski picked up her fourth career no-hitter in the nightcap. She threw 11 strikeouts and allowed no walks or hits. Ignowski is now 13-5 in the circle.
Niles will host South Bend Washington today at 5 p.m. for a single game, which is a make up from earlier this season.
Game One
St. Joe 000 000 001 – 1 8 0
Niles 000 000 000 – 0 5 0
WP – Sara Cobb
LP – Jenna Ignowski (12-5) to Nicole Ignowski
Top hitters: Nicole Ignowski, Shelley Aurand, Jenna Ignowski, Demi Schrader and Patty Anton
Game Two
St. Joe 000 000 0 – 0 0 1
Niles 000 100 0 – 1 6 0
WP – Ignowski (13-5) to Nicole Ignowski
LP – Cobb
Top hitters: Shelley Aurand (triple, RBI), Heather Daniels, Karly Kennedy, Nicole Ignowski, Patty Anton, Erica Gordon.