#21 UW-River Falls 5, #23 UW-La Crosse 4

Eau Claire, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse softball team was eliminated from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Regional Saturday afternoon with a 5-4 loss to conference foe UW-River Falls.  The game was played at Gelein Field at Carson Park.  The Eagles, who went 1-2 in the regional, finish their season at 28-16.

UW-River Falls improves to 28-14 on the season and will play Saturday at 6 p.m.

UW-L, ranked 23rd on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Poll, took a 3-0 lead Saturday with three runs in the top of the first.  Jenna Ahnen opened the game with a walk and advanced to third on Katie Fink's single.  Kelsey Golackson then hit an RBI single to score Ahnen for a 1-0 lead.  After a groundout moved Fink to third base and Golackson to second, Katie Pietrowiak knocked in Fink with an RBI groundout.  Emily Sobocinski came in to pinch run for Golackson and Lacey Probst followed with a single to make it 3-0.

UW-River Falls, ranked 21st on the NFCA Poll, cut the lead to 3-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth as Haley Selkirk and Jamie Klein each had RBI singles. 

The Falcons tallied three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-3 lead.  The Eagles had two errors in the inning leading to three unearned runs.  Hayley Buchanan tied the game with an infield single and Shawna Middleton had a two-out two-run single.

UW-L's Lauren Schaller hit a one-out solo home run in the top of the seventh to make it 5-4, but the Eagles' next two hitters were retired.

Lauren Beres (14-12) suffered the loss for UW-L, going 6.0 innings, allowing 14 hits and five runs (two earned) while striking out three.  Fink was 2-for-3 for the Eagles.

Rose Tusa (21-7) picked up the win for UW-River Falls, pitching 7.0 innings, allowing six hits, four runs and one walk with four strikeouts.  Alyssa Black was 3-for-4 for the Falcons while Buchanan, Middleton and Patty Olson each had two hits.

UW-L was making its fourth career appearance in the NCAA III Tournament, including the third straight.  The Eagles went 0-2 in the 2009 regional at Simpson College (Iowa) and 2-2 in 2010 at UW-Whitewater.  UW-L's first appearance in the national tournament was in 1986 when the team finished 2-2 at the UW-Whitewater Regional.