LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senior Erin Hunt threw a one-hit shutout in the 3-0 extra-inning victory over Northern Kentucky to help the Toledo softball earn a split in the opening day of the Louisville Softball Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday. The Rockets fell to tournament host Louisville 8-4 in the opening game.

"Each and every time we take the field our goal is to play Toledo softball," head coach Jessica Bracamonte said. "To us that means competing from start to finish, playing with confidence , making adjustments, and bringing lots of energy. When we do that, we give ourselves the best chance to get a good outcome. I felt we did that in both games today. Sometimes the outcome works in your favor and sometimes it doesn't. There will always be things that could have gone better, but that's the game. I am so proud of our team and how they showed up in every aspect of the game today - pitching, hitting, and defense."

Northern Kentucky broke up Hunt's bid for a no-hitter in the third inning with a single up the middle. But that would be the only hit the Norse would get against the senior right hander. Hunt struck out five batters in nine innings of work to earn her 12th career shutout and second of the season.

Hunt's pitching was supported by Riley Mohr who hit an RBI single and Lauren Erickson who cracked a two-run homer, both in the top of the ninth to break the scoreless tie and put Toledo back in the win column.

Earlier in the afternoon, Toledo stayed close with Louisville until the Cardinals pulled away with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a comfortable 8-3 lead. Macey Moore reached home in the top of the seventh on a Cardinal throwing error with two outs  to cut the lead to 8-4 but Aleah Marra grounded out to end the game.

Madison McKay took the loss vs. Louisville, giving up four hits and three runs for the loss in 1.1 innings of work. Lexi Eckman and Mohr each had two hits for Toledo, while Anna Dixon had a two-run triple.

"Erin threw 12 competitive innings for us between both games and gave our offense a chance to figure some things out and score some runs," added Bracamonte. "Jenna, Riley, and Lauren did a great job executing for us in the top of the ninth for the lead, plus many little things throughout both games that contributed to a day we can be proud of."

Toledo (3-8) will play two more games tomorrow starting with a 10:00 a.m. game vs. Northern Kentucky followed by a 12:30 p.m. game vs. Northwestern.

Game 1 – Louisville 8, Toledo 4

• Louisville opened scoring in the first off back-to-back RBI singles to take a 2-0 lead.
• Anna Dixon hit a two-run triple to left field to tie the game at 2-2.
• The Cardinals scored one run off a wild pitch to take a 3-2 lead.
• Louisville extended its lead to 5-2 in the third on a two-run single.
• Toledo closed the gap with one run in the fifth to make it 5-3.
• Louisville tacked on three runs in the fifth off two RBI doubles and a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 8-3.
• Macey Moore scored on a throwing error by the Cardinals with two outs in the seventh. The final out of the game came from a groundout to end the game 8-4 in favor of Louisville.  

Game 2 – Toledo 3, Northern Kentucky 0

• In the third inning, Northern Kentucky's Robertson cracked a single up the middle for the first hit of the game. 
• Leah Munson broke up NKU's Lauryn Hicks' no-hitter with a single to left field in the fifth.
• Toledo had back-to-back singles with two out in the top of the seventh but Aubrey Reed flied out to end the rally.
• The Norse got a one-out walk in the bottom of the seventh but the inning ended with 5-4-3 double play.
• In the ninth, Riley Mohr hit an RBI single to break the stalemate, and Erickson capped the inning with her first home run of the season, a two-run dinger to give Toledo a 3-0 lead.
• Hunt put NKU down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth.