CLERMONT, Fla. (
www.blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team competed in their fifth doubleheader of THE Spring Games on Thursday with games against Framingham State University and Plattsburgh State University at Legends Way. UW-Eau Claire hand their hands full in both games as the Blugolds need nine innings to defeat Framingham 8-7 and defeated Plattsburgh 4-3.
The opening game started in favor of the Blugolds as
Claire Beck (Jr. – Jefferson, Wis.) gave UWEC the momentum from the batter's box and the pitching stripe. Beck began with an RBI single to left field to score
Kenna Strunsee (Jr. – Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South) from third base. She followed up her 19
th RBI of the season by striking out the side in the top of the second inning to finish her day at the pitching stripe with two innings pitched, no hits given up, no walks, and four strikeouts. After the initial 1-0 lead,
Paige Lathrop (So. – South Milwaukee, Wis.) doubled down the left field line in the third inning, allowing Strunsee to cross home plate once again, making it 2-0. Later in the same half inning,
Hailey Hagedorn (So. – Farmington, Minn.) ripped a single to left field allowing Lathrop to find her way home and increase the UWEC lead to 3-0.
Framingham answered with one run in both the fourth and fifth innings as the Eau Claire lead was cut to 3-2.
The Blugolds found their stride once again in the sixth inning as Lathrop and
Molly Marquardt (Fr. – Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln Way West) batted baserunners across home to regain their three-run lead. The lead would be short lived as Framingham recorded three runs in the top of the seventh to send the game into extra innings at 5-5.
After surrendering two runs in the top of the eighth, UWEC matched Framingham's offense in the later half of the inning with a Strunsee single down the right field line and a sacrifice fly to left field. Eau Claire kept their opponents off the board in the top of the ninth to open the door for
Hailey Hagedorn. With a runner on second due to the international tiebreaker rules, Hagedorn singled into centerfield far enough to allow
Norah Kutnink (Fr. – Winneconne, Wis.) to score and win the game for UWEC.
Emma Sather (Jr. – Chetek, Wis./Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) was credited with her first win as a Blugold as she recorded one innings pitched with no hits, no walks, and one strikeout.
In the second game of the afternoon, Eau Claire found themselves with an early deficit as Palttsburgh jumped to a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Breann Blanchard (Fr. – Rockford, Minn.) and
Kenna Strunsee flipped the script in the third with back-to-back scoring plays of a passed ball and an RBI single bunt, making it 2-1 in favor of the Blugolds.
Megan Patterson (Jr. – Johnsburg, Ill.) and
Molly Marquardt extended the lead in the fourth and fifth innings with separate sacrifice bunts that scored runners from third, making it a 4-1 lead for Eau Claire as they hit the middle of the fifth inning.
Plattsburgh managed to scrape together one run in the fifth and one in the seventh before
Lauren Trottier entered the game and collected her second career save with 0.2 innings pitched, no hits, no walks, and two strikeouts.
Kira Schubert (Fr. – Eau Claire, Wis./Eau Claire North) earned her second win of the season with four hits against, two runs, two walks, and six strikeouts during her 4.1 innings pitched.
The Blugolds (8-6, WIAC 0-0) will wrap up their spring break trip on Friday, March 22
nd with a doubleheader against Smith College and Buffalo State University at Hancock Park Field 2. The first pitch is scheduled for 9 a.m. ET and 11:30 a.m. ET.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at
Blugolds.com or on our app,
Blugold Sports.
