Eau Claire 4, Stout 2 |
Eau Claire 8, Stout 5 |
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MENOMONIE (April 7, 2011) - Never say die would be a good motto for the UW-Stout softball.
Twice against 25th ranked UW-Eau Claire, the Blue Devils (10-8, 0-2) pulled to within striking range late in the game, but both times came up just short as the Blugolds (14-4, 2-0) swept the WIAC opener for both teams, 4-2, 8-5, Thursday at Alumni Field.
In the opener, trailing 4-0 heading into the sixth inning, the Blue Devils took advantage right away of a pitching change when
Hannah Sweet (Fr, Elk River, Minn) opened the inning with a single.
Olivia Schroeder (So, Eau Claire) came in to pinch run for Sweet and promptly came home on
Kelly Conway's (Sr, La Crescent, Minn) double. Conway advanced to third on the throw and came home moments later when
Erika Wolf (Fr, Elmwood) ripped a triple down the right field line.
The Blue Devils'
Sammy Peterson (Jr, Hudson) drew a lead-off walk in the seventh, then advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Stout went down in order the res tof the way.
Bri Conrad (Jr, South St. Paul, Minn) absorbed the loss, but started out pitching three perfect innings before Eau Claire's bats heated up in the fourth. The Blugold sent nine batters to the plate as Emily Muller, Jess Freagon, Brittany Bergquist and Nikki Bromelkamp each drove in a run.
Steph Kilps (Fr, New Berlin) came on in relief of Conrad and, after giving up a leadoff hit, stranded three runners.
Freagon was 2-for-3 for Eau Claire, while Conway was 2-for-3 for Stout.
In the nightcap, Stout took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after
Courtney Richardson (Fr, Miltona, Minn) led off with a walk, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Conway and went to third on
Alison Gray's (So, St. Cloud, Minn) ground out. Richardson scored when Sweet reached safely on an error.
But the Blugolds took a 3-1 lead in the third, then padded that with two more runs in the fifth on Emily Haluska's inside-the-park home run down the left field line.
Stout cut the lead to 5-2 in the sixth when Gray doubled in Conway and Richardson. Eau Claire answered back with three more runs in the seventh to take an 8-3 lead.
The Blue Devils came right back in the seventh inning.
Shanen Stainer (Fr, Menomonie) led off with a double, then moved to third on Wolf's double to shallow left field. Stainer scored on Conrad's groundout and Wolf scored on Peterson's ground out.
Richardson kept things going with two outs, reaching safely on an error. Conway walked and Gray was safe on an infield single, loading the bases. But a deep hit ball to center field by Sweet was corralled and Eau Claire preserved the win.
After going hitless in the first game, Gray was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Haluska led Eau Claire with three hits and three RBI, while Emily Muller was 3-for-5 and Aleisha Harper was 2-for-5.
Stout will be at St. Catherines, Sunday, April 10, then return to home to host UW-Stevens Point, Monday, April 11 at 3 p.m., before heading to UW-River Falls, Wednesday, April 13.
