Tori Workman dominant as Blue Devils continue to roll

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MENOMONIE (April 26, 2014) - Tori Workman (So, Prior Lake, Minn.) pitched a pair of gems and Jessica Behnke (Sr, Bruce) hit her first home run of the season as the UW-Stout softball team swept UW-La Crosse on Saturday at Alumni Field. The Blue Devils won game one by a 5-2 score before taking game two 4-0.

Stout (24-10, 11-1 WIAC) never trailed in either contest. In the first game, Stout jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. With one out, Workman ripped a triple to right center and Nicole Rogers (So, Brooklyn Center, Minn.) followed with a walk. Behnke moved Rogers over to second on a groundout before Heather Bol (Fr, Baldwin) laced a single to center field, bringing Workman and Rogers around to score.

La Crosse (21-11, 9-7 WIAC) would get a run back on an error and a single in the top of the third, giving Stout a 2-1 advantage.

The Blue Devils added two more runs in the fourth inning, as Tori Workman would get things started again with a one-out single. Workman would finish game one 2-3 at the plate with a pair of runs scored. The next batter,  Rogers, reached on an error before a passed ball allowed both base runners to move up a base. With runners on second and third, Behnke came up big, sneaking the ball through the infield to drive in both runs for a 4-1 Stout lead.

Stout's final run came in the fifth inning, with three straight hits from Sam Hastings (Sr, Waukesha), Taylor Workman (Jr, Prior Lake, Minn.), and Hannah Sweet (Sr, Elk River, Minn.) resulting in a 5-1 Blue Devil lead. The Eagles would add another run on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Kallie Krech in the seventh before Tori Workman slammed the door shut to preserve the victory.

In game two, the Blue Devils jumped out to another early lead on a Behnke three-run home run in the second inning. Facing a 1-2 count with Sweet on second and Tori Workman on first, Behnk connected on the next pitch with a long drive to right that cleared the fence for a 3-0 lead. That would be all Workman would need in terms of run-support, as she scattered five hits and two walks for the victory, improving to 18-8 on the season.

At the plate in game two, Workman went 2-3 with a run scored, Sweet was 2-2 and Kaitlin Stark (So, Hastings, Minn.) was 2-4 for the Blue Devils.

Stout will be back in action tomorrow, April 27, playing host to the Pioneers of UW-Platteville. The first game is tentatively scheduled to start at 10 a.m.