Blue Devil softball opens Florida trip with first day sweep

UW-Stout 9, Stevenson University 3 | UW-Stout 4, Franklin and Marshall 3

LEESBURG, Fla (March 11, 2018) - UW-Stout opened their annual Florida spring break trip off with a bang, downing Stevenson University, 9-3, in the tournament opener, and then edged Franklin and Marshall, 4-3, Sunday.

In the opener, freshman AJ Klosterman hit a home run and Kyncaide Diedrich had three RBI, scored two runs and stole three bases. Stout scored four runs in both the third and fourth innings to jump out an 8-1 lead. 

Mary Ilioupolos was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Malea Bruns went four innings to get the win, scattering four hits and giving up one run. Meghan Kelley and Sommer Kunstmann pitched the final three innings.

In the 4-3 win over Franklin and Marshall, Stout scored in the third when Mary Iliopoulos drove in Renee Murphy with a double. Kunstmann, playing as the designated player, hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give Stout a 3-0 lead. 

Stout added a run in the sixth to make it 4-0, but Franklin and Marshall scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to pull to within 4-2, then added a run in the bottom of the seventh, but stranded runners at second and third. 

Stout will meet North Park University and Mount St. Joseph College, Monday, March 12.