By: Jake Krier, UWEC Sports Information

CLERMONT, Fla. (blugolds.com) - After winning three of their first four contests in the PFX Games, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team has since dropped four straight following defeats to a pair of opponents from the Midwest on Monday. The Blugolds fell 4-1 to Carleton (Minn.) and then 6-0 to Hope College (Mich.).

After two scoreless innings against Carleton, the Knights busted the game open with four runs in the top of the third inning. All four were earned against starting pitcher Cheyenne Johnson (So.-Poplar, WI/Northwestern) who was unable to get out of the inning. Stephanie Wilczynski replaced Johnson and did a fine job, limiting Carleton to just one hit and no runs or walks the rest of the way.

Eau Claire's lone run came in the sixth inning on an RBI-single from Abbey Place (Fr.-Naperville, IL/Naperville Central). This was one of three hits the Blugolds produced in the loss, with the others coming from the bats of Carlie Christensen (Sr.-Ellsworth, WI/River Falls) and Katelyn Yute (Fr.-North Prairie, WI/Kettle Moraine).

In Monday's second game, the hits came at a premium as well against the Flying Dutch. While blanked in the run column, the Blugolds were also minimized to only four hits by the Hope pitching staff. Christiansen accounted for a triple, while Yute added another hit in this game. Katie Rongstad (So.-Slinger, WI) and Brooke Varian (Jr.-Madison, WI/West) picked up the final two base-knocks.

The Flying Dutch scattered twelve hits off the combination of Wilczynski and Sarah Peka (So.-Chanhassen, MN/Minnetonka), who took the circle. Peka received her third loss in as many days, after starting the year 4-0 and going the first three and two-thirds innings against Hope.

Eau Claire receives an off-day to regroup on Tuesday before returning to the field on Wednesday with games against Buffalo State (8:00 a.m. CST) and Benedictine University (10:30 a.m. CST).

Follow the action all season long on Blugold Game Day.