Decorah, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse softball team dropped a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at Luther College (Iowa). The Norse, ranked fifth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), earned an 8-0 win in the opener (five innings) and an 11-3 victory in the nightcap (six innings) over the Eagles. UWL falls to 18-10 on the season while Luther (Iowa) improves to 22-2.
In Wednesday's opener, Samantha Bratland (11-1) earned the win for Luther (Iowa), pitching 5.0 innings, allowing two hits while striking out four. The Norse hit five solo home runs in game one, totaling nine hits overall. Addy Pender went 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
Caitlyn Hughes (6-4) took the loss for UWL in game one, giving up eight runs on nine hits in 4.0 innings. She walked four and struck out one batter.
Sydney Murphy and
Ashley Lindstrom each had a hit for the Eagles.
In the nightcap, UWL took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Brittany Baldwin singled to open the game and stole second base. She advanced to third on a
Stephanie Cole single. Murphy hit a sacrifice grounder to third, scoring Baldwin. Cole advanced to third on a Lindstrom groundout, and scored on a
Grace Mindrup double to center.
Luther (Iowa) scored one run in the first and four in the second to lead 5-2 after two innings, but UWL got a run back in the top of third. Lindstrom doubled to center with two outs, followed by a Mindrup single to left to score Lindstrom and cut the lead to 5-3.
The score remained 5-3 until the bottom of the fifth. Luther's (Iowa) Pender hit a two-run home run to make it 7-3 after five. The Norse added four more in the sixth to make the final 11-3.
Annie Versnik (11-1) went 5.0 innings to get the win for Luther (Iowa). She allowed three runs on nine hits, striking out two and walking one batter. Bratland came on for the sixth, and after a walk, struck out the side. Megan Bonnett, Sara Nelson, and Stockman had two hits each for the Norse, with Stockman adding three RBI.
Katie Klein (5-4) took the loss for the Eagles, giving up 11 runs on 10 hits in 5.2 innings. She walked seven and struck out three batters. Cole went 3-for-3 with a run scored, while Mindrup was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Baldwin was 2-for-4 and scored a run for UWL.
UWL returns to action Friday, April 14 hosting UW-Oshkosh at 2 p.m.
