River Falls, Wis. –  The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse softball team, receiving votes in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top-25 Poll, swept a doubleheader over UW-River Falls Friday afternoon at Faye Perkins Softball Stadium. The Eagles won the first game 4-1, and took the nightcap 3-2, to improve to 23-8 overall and 11-1 in the WIAC while the Falcons fall to 15-12 overall and 4-6 in conference.
 

The sweep extends UWL's winning streak to 11, tied for the second-longest in school history. The Eagles also won 11 consecutive games in 2002 and 2008. UWL won a school record 21 straight games in 2010. 

The first game remained scoreless through the first four innings, as UWL's Elise Weinzierl struck out five batters. The Eagles broke the stalemate in the top of the fifth inning, as Megan Scheidt reached on a single and stole second. A UW-River Falls' throwing error scored Scheidt while putting Kyra Lard on third and Kendra Leis on second.  Kate O'Brien pinch run for Leis and Lauren Winkler's single scored Lard and O'Brien to put UWL up 3-0.

Back-to-back singles by Anna Jensen and Emily Knight to lead off the top of the sixth inning set up Lard's sacrifice fly to score Jensen, givnig the Eagles a 4-0 lead. Remington Stark relieved Weinzeirl in the bottom of the sixth with runners on first and third. A throwing error on a failed pick-off attempt by Jensen scored Johanna Breyen for the only UW-River Falls run of the game. Three straight strikeouts by Stark in the bottom of the seventh closed out the 4-1 victory for UWL.

Weinzierl (10-2) earned the win, allowing one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts in 5.0 innings while Stark secured her first save of the season with four strikeouts in 2.0 innings. Juliana Reynolds (7-6) was the losing pitcher for UW-River Falls, going 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.

Lard led the Eagles' offense, going 2-for3 with an RBI and one run while Winkler went 1-for-2 with two RBI. Scheidt finished 2-for-2 with one run. Breyen scored the lone Falcons' run while going 1-for-3. Keegan Piton finished 2-for-3.

The Eagles started the second game behind a lead-off triple from Lard, her first of the season, in the top of the first followed by an RBI single by Jordyn McCormack. Hailey Jibben and Ellie Yeager each deliverd run-scoring doubles to give UWL a 3-0 lead.

UW-River Falls answered back in the bottom of the third. After walking two batters, Stark relieved Madi Lee on the mound, and Piton's single drove in Kelly Aultman. Breyen stole home on a failed pick-off attempt to close the Eagles lead to 3-2.

UWL left two runners on base in the fifth and sixth innings and one in the seventh, but were unable to add to its lead. 

Lee (3-2) earned the win, allowing two runs with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings while Weinzierl picked up her third save of the season. She went 2.0 innings while striking out two. Corinne Roe (3-5) suffered the loss for UW-River Falls, pitching 7.0 innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits.

McCormack led UWL, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and one run.  Yeager went 2-for-2 with an RBI and double while Jibben also added a double and RBI.  Piton and Aultman both went 1-for-2 with UW-River Falls.

UWL returns to action Monday, May 2 at North Campus Field against UW- Whitewater with the first game of the doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.