KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Northwest Christian University softball season came to a close on Saturday with a 2-1 conference victory and a 5-2 non-conference loss.
 
Sophomore Emma Jegtvig took care of business in the opener, reaching double-digit strikeouts for the second time this season with 11 K's over seven innings. She allowed just one run in her first career two-hitter.
 
The Beacons got on the board first, scoring in the first inning on a double-steal. Senior Jessica Garner, NCU's all-time steals leader, fittingly got her final stolen base of the season by stealing home and giving NCU a 1-0 lead.
 
NCU added a crucial score in the fourth as Madi Jones hit home Anna Cardwell for what would amount to a game-winning run.
 
Jegtvig was cruising along, allowing just one hit over the first six innings before a lead-off home run from Alexis Contreras in the top of the seventh made things interesting. The next three batters were retired in order, giving NCU their seventh conference win of the season, their highest total in three years.
 
The Beacons went on to drop the second game, but Jegtvig had one more chance to shine, striking out four more batters in two innings to bring her season total to 129. It was the most by a Beacon pitcher in 12 years and the fourth-highest in school history. Jegtvig also finished her season with 142.2 innings pitched, tying the school-record set by Jill   Suratt in 2015. Her ERA (2.60) was the best in nine years and her batting average against (.251) was the fifth-lowest in NCU's 20-year history.
 
As a team, the Beacons broke the school-record for sacrifice hits with 55 while tying the stolen bases record with 63. The previous record for sacrifice hits was 41, set in 2012. NCU currently leads the CCC in that category.
 
NCU finished the season with an 11-32 record. Their 7-20 mark in conference play placed the Beacons in a three-way tie for eighth-place. They missed the post-season by just one game, but completed a season with plenty of highlights.