CLERMONT, Fla. (
www.blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team began play during their spring break trip on Saturday morning with two nonconference games at THE Spring Games. Despite dropping the first contest to Simpson College, 14-3, the Blugolds fought back and defeated Western New England University in game two to earn the afternoon split during their debut down South.
UW-Eau Claire found themselves in a hole during their opening game as the Simpson College Storm built an 8-0 lead in the first two innings. The Blugolds were able to strand four Simpson runners in the first three frames and recorded two hits to stay within striking difference of their opponents.
UWEC found their first runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth as
Molly Marquardt (Fr. – Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln Way West) hit her first collegiate home run with
Hailey Hagedorn (So. – Farmington, Minn.) on base to cut the Blugold deficit to 9-2. Eau Claire was kept at the seven-run deficit until the bottom of the sixth as
Salena Jeanson (Sr. – St. Paul, Minn./North St. Paul) hit an RBI ground out to second base, allowing
Breann Blanchard (Fr. – Rockford, Minn.) to cross home plate, making it a 9-3 ballgame. Simpson added five runs in the top of the seventh to seal the 14-3 defeat for the Blugolds.
After the opening game loss, Eau Claire turned things around in game two as they took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the third as
Morgan Netzinger (So. – Plover, Wis./SPASH) stole third and crossed home plate on a catcher's throwing error to give UWEC the early lead.
Mila Photopoulos (Fr. – Mudelein, Ill.) recorded the first Blugold hit of game two and was pinch ran for by Netzinger as Eau Claire looked to bounce back.
Paige Lathrop (So. – South Milwaukee, Wis.) extended the lead in the top of the fourth with similar aggressive base running as Netzinger by stealing second, third, and scoring on a wild pitch, making it 2-0. WNE found an answer to the early UWEC lead in the next half inning with a RBI double, but
Jacie Schultz (Jr. – Lake Crystal, Minn./Lake Crystal-Wellcome) entered the game in the third and held the Golden Bears to just the lone run in the fourth inning.
Later in the second game of the day,
Claire Beck (Jr. – Jefferson, Wis.) singled up the middle to bring
Kenna Strunsee (Jr. – Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South) across home plate and extend Eau Claire's lead back to two runs. Beck increased her team leading totals to 9 RBI's and 9 hits as she secured the eventual game-winning hit for the Blugolds.
Lauren Trottier (Fr. – Burlington, Wis./Elkhorn) came into the game during the bottom of the 6
th inning for UWEC and shut down any comeback opportunity for WNE. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7
th, Trottier held strong and found the final two outs of the game to record her first collegiate save.
Jacie Schultz was credited with the victory in game two and is now 2-2 on the year. Schultz led the Blugold pitching staff with four strikeouts on the day after facing 12 batters. Jacelyn Hancock (Sr. – Verona, Wis.) had a terrific start for UWEC as she went 2.2 innings with 11 batters faced and conceded no runs or hits.
The Blugolds (3-3, WIAC 0-0) will be back on the field on Sunday, March 17
th when they face Nazareth University and Grinnell College. First pitch against the Nazareth Golden Flyers is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. ET on Legends Way Field 3, with game two against Grinnell to follow after.
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