EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (
www.blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team wrapped up their regular season on Saturday with a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the 18
th ranked UW-Oshkosh Titans. Despite battling hard and keeping things close in most of the innings, the Blugolds fell twice to UWO, 6-1 and 10-4.
The opening game of the day found UWEC with an early deficit as the Titans hit two separate home runs in the first and third innings to take a 5-0 early lead. Eau Claire found their lone run of the first contest off the bat of
Norah Kutnink (Fr. – Winneconne, Wis.) who blasted a solo home run of her own over the right field fence. Kutnink's lone tally for the Blugolds was her first collegiate home run with UWEC.
The Titans kept Eau Claire from crossing home for the remainder of the game as they added an RBI single in the seventh inning to secure the 6-1 Eau Claire loss.
The second game of the day began with two scoreless innings before either side found a run. After a pair of RBI singles by Oshkosh in the top of the third,
Hailey Hagedorn (So. – Farmington, Minn.) got UWEC on the board with an RBI single to left field that scored
Paige Lathrop (So. – South Milwaukee, Wis.) from third. Two batters later,
Siri Springer (Fr. – Lino Lakes, Minn./Mounds Park) earned an RBI as she walked with the bases loaded to tie the game at 2-2. During the next at bat,
Miranda Gernander (Fr. – Coleraine, Minn./Greenway) reached first on a fielder's choice that brought
Kenna Strunsee (Jr. – Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South) across home to earn the Blugolds the 3-2 lead.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the ranked Titans piled on four runs in the top of the fifth and one more in the top of the sixth to gain a 7-3 lead. Eau Claire kept fighting as
Paige Lathrop ripped an RBI single up the middle that brought
Miranda Gernander in to score to cut the deficit to 7-4. UWEC was unable to find anymore runs in the bottom of the sixth or the seventh as UWO tacked on three more runs in the final inning to seal the 10-4 Blugold defeat.
The Blugolds (18-16, WIAC 7-7) will head into the WIAC Championship Tournament as the 5
th seed and draw a first-round matchup with the 4
th seeded UW-La Crosse Eagles. The opening round is set to begin on Thursday, May 9 at the campus of UW-Oshkosh. The Blugolds and Eagles kick the tournament off at 9 a.m.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at
Blugolds.com or on our app,
Blugold Sports.
