EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire softball team swept UW-Stout in a doubleheader at Gelein Field in Carson Park, winning game one 3-0 and game two 9-3 today.
The wins give Blugold head coach Leslie Huntington 299 career victories as the Blugolds improve to 16-8 on the season and 6-2 in conference play. The Blue Devils fall to 12-12 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
In game one, the Blugolds scored three runs in the first inning and held on the rest of the way for the win.
With runners on first and third, Emily Muller (Sr.-Lancaster, Wis.) hit a home run, her second of the season, to bring in Amanda Houle (So.-Chisago City, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and Jenny Hess (Jr.-Wisconsin Rapids, Wis./Lincoln). After the first inning, there was very little offense as the two teams combined for just eight hits the rest of the way.
The Blugolds finished the game with six hits, three of which came from Muller. Stout had just three hits.
Emma Wishau (So.-Waterford, Wis./Union) pitched the entire game and faced 25 batters, striking out five. She improves to 6-5 on the season while pitching her third shutout on the year.
In the second game, the Blugolds opened the game with five runs and scored four more the rest of the way.
Hess and Muller scored runs in the first inning to give the Blugolds a 2-0 lead, and with two outs, Nikki Bromelkamp (Sr.-Zumbrota, Minn./Zumbrota-Mazeppa) hit a three-run homer to left field to give the Blugolds a 5-0 lead. Jess Freagon (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) and Amanda Fischer (Fr.-Wausau, Wis./West) scored on the home run.
Stout hit home runs in the second and fourth innings and also scored one run in the fifth.
Fischer led the game with three runs as she crossed home plate in the first, third and fifth innings. Sarah Fern (Jr.-Brooklyn Center, Minn./Park Center) and Courtney Nelson (Fr.-Mosinee, Wis./SPASH) also scored runs in the third and fourth innings, respectively.
Bromelkamp, who finished with three of the Blugolds' 14 hits and had a game-high six RBI.
Ashley Meinen (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) pitched the complete game and improved to 6-2 on the season, striking out four Blue Devils after facing 29. She gave up six hits and three runs.
This weekend, the Blugolds will head to Bloomington, Ill. for four games at the Illinois Wesleyan Tournament. They will play two games on both Saturday and Sunday.
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