BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Blugolds.com) – The 22nd-ranked UW-Eau Claire softball team came up just short to ninth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University on day two of the NCAA Regional, falling 2-1 at IWU Field today.
Saturday at 10 a.m., the Blugolds will face Carthage College (35-9) in an elimination game. The two teams have only faced each other twice previously, in 1998 and 1999. The Blugolds won the most recent contest in 1999 (11-1 in six innings) while Carthage won in 1998.
In today's game, the Blugolds finished with four hits while committing two errors. The Titans had seven hits with no errors.
While Illinois Wesleyan scored an unearned run in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead, the Blugolds tied the game in the fourth inning when Amanda Fischer (Fr.-Wausau, Wis./West) hit her ninth home run of the season. The nine home runs lead Eau Claire this season and is the fourth highest total in a season in program history.
The tie last until the bottom of the fifth when the Titans scored one more run. With a 2-1 lead, Illinois Wesleyan was able to hang on the rest of the way to capture the victory.
Emma Wishau (So.-Waterford, Wis./Union) pitched a complete game, striking out four batters. She is now 15-7 on the season.
Eau Claire drops to 33-13 on the season while Illinois Wesleyan improves to 38-7.
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