La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse softball team earned a doubleheader split with UW-Stevens Point Saturday afternoon at North Campus Field in the Eagles' regular-season finale. UW-Stevens Point took the opener, 2-0, before UWL came back to rally and win the nightcap, 3-2 in eight innings. UWL, tied for 18th on this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top-25 Poll, is now 26-12 overall and finish 10-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). UW-Stevens Point is 11-23 overall and finish 3-11 in conference play.
With the win in Saturday's second game, UWL clinches the second seed for the WIAC Championship (Presented by Culver's) scheduled for May 5-7 at UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks earned the league's regular-season title.
UWL has won at least 10 WIAC games for third straight season after finishing 11-5 in 2015 and 10-4 in 2016.
Chris Helixon is now 298-185 (.617) in his 12th-year as UWL's head coach. He is 350-269-1 (.565) overall in 17 seasons.
In the opener, UW-Stevens Point's Ashley Cohen (4-8) earned the complete-game victory. She went 7.0 innings, allowing five hits with four strikeouts. The Pointers scored the game's only two runs in the top of the second on Ashley Cohen's RBI triple and Paige Kitzing's run-scoring single.
UW-Stevens Point had four hits in the game with Allen going 2-for-3.
Jessie Carignan (10-4) took the loss for UWL, pitching her sixth complete-game of the season. She went 7.0 innings, allowing four hits, two runs and one walk while striking out five. Five different players had a hit for the Eagles.
UWL took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth in Saturday's nightcap with Morgann Harbort scoring on
Brittany Baldwin's two-out bases-loaded single. UW-Stevens Point took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth on a pair of two-out hits. Katie Uhlenbrauck's RBI double tied the game at 1-1 and Payton Mix followed with an RBI single to make it 2-1.
The Eagles responded in the bottom of the inning to tie the game on
Sarah Mueller's two-out run-scoring to knock in
Ashley Lindstrom. UWL earned the walk-off win in the bottom of the eighth despite not hitting the ball out of the infield.
Stephanie Cole had an infield single to start the inning and advanced to second on Lindstrom's sacrifice bunt.
Ally Perdue was hit-by-pitch to put runners on first and second. Cole scored the winning run on a UW-Stevens Point throwing error off the bat of
Katie Klein.
Klein (7-4) earned the win, pitching 2.0 innings in relief, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out one.
Caitlyn Hughes started for the Eagles, going 6.0 innings, allowing five hits and two runs with two strikeouts. UWL had nine hits in the second game with Mueller finishing 3-for-3 and Baldwin going 2-for-4. Both players had an RBI.
Cohen (4-9) suffered the loss for UW-Stevens Point in the nightcap, going 2.2 innings in relief. She allowed three hits and two runs (one earned). Amelia Heup started for the Pointers, pitching 4.2 innings, allowing six hits and one run. UW-Stevens Point finished with six hits as Mix went 3-for-4.
UWL returns to action Friday, May 5 at noon at the WIAC Championship (Presented by Culver's).
