Bethel University 6, UW-Stout 0 |
UW-Stout 6, University of Northwestern 3
MANKATO, Minn. (February 26, 2022) – Bethel University and the University of Northwestern are just down the road from each other in the Twin Cities, but both schools traveled to the Bethany Lutheran Kwik Trip Invitational to take on the UW-Stout softball team Saturday.
And for the Blue Devils (4-2), the results were miles apart. Stout opened the day with a 6-0 loss to Bethel but turned around for a 6-3 win later in the afternoon over Northwestern.
Mackensie Wolterstoff was awarded the decisions in both games. After allowing four runs against Bethel over 1.2 innings, Wolterstorff came on in relief against Northwestern with two outs and two runners on base in the second inning, trailing 3-0. Wolterstorff ended the inning – and the threat - with a strikeout.
The Blue Devils offense got to work in the bottom of the inning to pull to within one run.
Kate Funk opened with a triple and
Ashley Jacobson drew a walk.
Hannah Timm came in to pinch run and stole second. The ball went into the outfield on the throw and Funk took home and Timm took third.
Lexy Kupczak plated Timm with a sacrifice fly.
Wolterstorff put the Eagles down in order in the third and Stout went to work again in the bottom of the inning, scoring two more runs to take the lead.
Korin Hall hit a one out single, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on
Kelly Beck's groundout.
Shannon Jones smacked a double, Funk walked, then both moved up a base on a wild pitch. Jacobson re-entered and loaded the bases with a walk. Kupczak drove in her second run of the day with a single.
After stranding two Eagles on base in the top of the fourth, Stout added two more runs in their half of the inning.
Kaylee Peterson led off with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Ava Williams reached on a short single and Hall filled the bases when she was hit by a pitch. Beck recorded her second RBI of the game when she drew a walk. Following two outs, Jacobson singled home Hall to end the scoring for the day.
Stout left two runners on in the fifth. Northwestern had a runner on second in the seventh, but Wolterstorff concluded the game with a strikeout, her fifth of the game and her ninth of the day.
Both Stout and Northwestern finished with eight hits. Jones and
Kayli Pfeffer each had a double and Funk had a triple.
Against Northwestern, Wolterstorff struck out five, scattered three hits, while walking one in throwing 5.1 innings of scoreless ball.
It was a different story in the opener. While Wolterstorff recorded four strikeouts, she allowed four runs – two earned – and walked four in 1.2 innings.
Bethel (1-0) got a run in the bottom of the first, then chased Wolterstorff with three runs in the bottom of the second. Maddie Kleinschmidt came on to finish out the game, allowing single runs in the fourth and sixth innings – of which only the run in the fourth was earned.
Stout did record four hits, but none came past the third inning when they recorded two hits and left runners stranded at second and third.
Stout will have an early morning call Sunday when they face host Bethany Lutheran at 7 a.m. and then will close out the day by playing Gustavus Adolphus at 9:15 a.m.
