ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team split a season-opening doubleheader with the College of Saint Benedict on Sunday, dropping the first game 7-6 before rallying for a 6-3 victory in extras in Game 2. The Blugolds surged late in the second game to earn a split at the Husky Dome.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UW-Eau Claire (1-1) took an early lead in the opening game after plating three runs in the top of the first — highlighted by a two-run homer from Molly Marquardt (So. - Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way West). The Bennies (2-2) had an answer though, scoring once in the bottom half of the frame before pushing four more runs across in the second.
- The Blugolds cut into the two-run deficit with a run-scoring single by Claire Beck (Sr. - Jefferson, Wis.) in the top of the fifth. They took the lead in dramatic fashion, pushing across two runs in the top of the seventh. Mila Photopoulos (So. - Mundelein, Ill.) hit an RBI single before Megan Patterson (Sr. - Johnsburg, Ill.) put the Blugolds in front 6-5 with a sacrifice fly. The Bennies went on to win the game in the bottom half though, using a walk-off, two-run home run to come out on top.
- Saint Benedict got in front early in Game 2, plating two runs in the bottom of the third. The Bennies took that 2-0 lead into the top of the seventh.
- Miranda Gernander (So. - Coleraine, Minn./Greenway) halved the lead with an RBI single in the top of the seventh. Then, with UW-Eau Claire down to its final out, Paige Lathrop (Jr. - South Milwaukee, Wis.) delivered a game-tying RBI single to make it 2-2. The Bennies couldn't find another walk-off winner in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extras.
- The Blugolds put it away in the top of the eighth, with Beck's RBI single starting off a four-run frame. Gernander drove in two more runs with another single, and Kenna Strunsee (Sr. - Waukesha, Wis./South) tacked on an RBI single of her own. Saint Benedict scored once in the bottom of the eighth, but it wasn't enough to erase the deficit.
- Jacie Schultz (Sr. - Lake Crystal, Ill./Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) earned the win in Game 2, pitching seven innings and holding the Bennies to four hits while striking out three.
- Marquardt finished the day with four hits. Beck and Strunsee added three apiece.
UP NEXT
UW-Eau Claire will travel south for the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Georgia. The Blugolds will play six games between February 28 and March 2. They take on Piedmont and Alma to open the tournament on February 28.
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