Clermont, Fla. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse softball team split a pair of contests Thursday as it continues its spring trip. The Eagles fell, 7-4 in nine innings, to Babson College (Mass.) before earning an 8-4 victory over Hope College (Mich.).
UWL is now 12-6 on the season.
Babson (Mass.) would get the scoring started off in the top of the first on a Maddy DeLong single, scoring Sophia Pak. In the top of the second, the Beavers extended their lead to 2-0 on a Devin McCall single knocking in Charlotte Raymond.
The game remained 2-0 until the top of the sixth when Babson's (Mass.) Allie Cubberly scored on a wild pitch.
UWL got on the board in a big way in the bottom of the seventh when an
Amber Gonzalez single scored
Lindsay Steien making it 3-1. A two-out two-run single from
Kyra Lard tied the game at 3-3 heading into extra innings.
The Beavers scored one run in the top of the eighth on an Athena Hadjipanayis single to take a 4-3.
Maddy Bornbach tied the game for the Eagles in the bottom of the eighth when she reached on an error to score
Kyra Lard.
Babson (Mass.) tallied three unearned runs in the top of the ninth off a Cubberly single and a two-run error making it 7-4. The Eagles went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Carmen Follette (2-2) suffered the loss for UWL. She went 8.0 innings, giving up seven runs (three earned) with nine hits and six walks. Gonzalez led the Eagles going 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run. Lard had two RBI in the game.
Cameron Whiteford (4-1) secured the win for Babson (Mass.), pitching all 9.0 innings while giving up four runs (three earned) with 12 strikeouts. She gave up six hits and two walks in the win. Hadjipana led the Beavers, going 2-for-3 with one walk.
In game two, Mia Vanderheide got the scoring started for the Flying Dutchman in the bottom of the first after coming in on an error.
The Eagles stormed back in the bottom of the third when
Brooke Howard scored after an error on a steal of third base to make it 1-1. Lard later doubled scoring
Ava Jaehnke followed by a Bornbach single making it 3-1.
Nicole Zoellner knocked in Bornbach to finish off the four run inning.
Hope (Mich.) got one run back in the bottom of the third on a bases-loaded walk by Mady Pahl to make it 4-2 after three.
UWL took a 5-2 lead in the top of the fourth on a Gonzalez steal of home. Hope (Mich.) tightened the deficit in the bottom of the fifth on two wild pitches to make it 5-4.
In the top of the seventh, Lard scored on a wild pitch for a 6-4 lead followed by a two-run home run by
Marissa Pease to make it 8-4.
Kaeley Niemiec closed the door in the seventh to give the Eagles' the 8-4 victory.
Niemiec (4-1) picked up the win for the Eagles. She pitched a complete game, going 7.0 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) while striking out seven. Niemiec allowed six hits and walked four in the win. Ten Eagles recorded a hit with Pease recording two RBI on her home run.
Gianna Kershbaum (4-3) took the loss for Hope (Mich.). She pitched 2.2 innings while giving up four runs (three earned) and six hits with three strikeouts. Terin Maynard led the Flying Dutchman going 2-for-4 in the game.
UWL returns to action Friday, March 21 against Rowan University (N.J.) at 8 a.m. (CT) and Kalamazoo College (Mich.) at 10:15 a.m. (CT).
