LONGVIEW, Texas (Blugolds.com)—A windy day in Longview found a UW-Eau Claire Softball team feeling slightly at home in the brisk East Texas weather. The sun broke through the clouds as the bats of the Blugolds found pitch after pitch to send through the infield, allowing them to pick up two big wins against LeTourneau University on the tail end of their spring break trip.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
UW-Eau Claire came out guns blazing in game one, scoring five runs on three hits in the 1st inning. Amanda Fischer (Sr.-Wausau, WI/West) led the charge when she doubled into right-center field to score the first runner. The next two batters each strung together hits to keep the momentum rolling. A base hit bunt from Kenzie Winning (So.-Waupun, WI) would move Fischer and put herself on first base. Fischer would then score on a Kelsey Meredith (So.-Golden Valley, MN/Armstrong) single through the right side. With two outs and bases loaded, freshman catcher Carlie Christensen (Fr.-Ellsworth, WI/River Falls) sent a hard ground ball towards LeTourneau's shortstop who overthrew the ball to first base. Christensen would get on and all three runs score to give the Blugolds a 5-0 lead.
In the 2nd inning, Fischer again brought the bat and, with two outs, drove in another run with a solo shot over the right-center fence. That would be the last run to score through the next five innings but the defensive side still provided an exciting edge to the game. Nikki Brooks (Sr.-Hammond, WI/St. Croix Central) made a diving catch in left field for the first out in the 4th inning and in the 5th, Leah Wolff (So.-Middleton, WI) saved a ball from moving through the infield and threw out the runner from her knees. Finally, in the bottom of the 6th, Winning caught a hard hit, low fly ball and made the throw to Wolff at second for the doubleplay. Neither team scored in the 7th inning, ending game one with the Blugolds on top 6-0.
Zana Lorbetske (Jr.-Rhinelander, WI/Three Lakes) picked up another win from the mound as she struck out 11 batters, giving up only four hits and walking two.
In the final game of the night, the lead shifted several times throughout. UWEC jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but the Yellowjackets answered back with one of their own in the bottom of the 1st inning. Two runs scored for the Blugolds in inning 2, both with two outs, after Fischer's line drive up the middle set up a scoring play on a single through the right side from Wolff. Meredith sent a ball sailing to center field to score Emily Pomykalski (So.-Cross Plains, WI/Middleton), pinch running for Wolff, before the final out. Once again, LETU put up runs in their time up to bat, this time four runs scored giving them a 5-3 lead.
UW-Eau Claire's rally came in the 4th inning when both Fischer and Wolff got on base with singles in the middle infield. Two outs from the next two batters looked to put the Blugolds down and out but they were just getting started. After Fischer scored on a heads up play during the second out, Casey Arnold (Sr.-Kaukauna, WI) scored Wolff when her hard ground ball made it past the second baseman. UWEC then loaded the bases. Unable to get another hit they would end the inning with no other runs scored but they still had the scored tied at five runs each.
Two more runs in the 7th would be the deciding factor for the Blugolds who scored on a sacrifice fly to left field and another hard ground ball through the left side. UWEC would shut down LeTourneau in the last half inning with three up, three down and walk away with the 7-5 victory.
Arnold went 2-for-3 in game two with one RBI.
Game two also saw some big changes in the lineup with the Blugolds utilizing 18 players on their roster. With injuries plaguing the team early in the season, Head Coach Leslie Huntington looked to give different players the opportunity to get quality playing time in order to build stamina and mental toughness within the group. Carlie Christensen and Darby Raffel (Fr.-Middleton, WI) both got their first starts as part of the UW-Eau Claire squad, Christensen at catcher and Raffel in left field, and held their own against a 9-10 Yellowjackets team.
"We didn't change the lineup because we thought this game would be a walk in the park," said Huntington. "We made lineup changes to give people experience because we'll need it down the stretch."
Fischer had a day in the box, going 6-for-8 with a double, homerun, 3 RBIs, and three stolen bases. Meredith also went 4-for-7 and added 4 RBIs. UW-Eau Claire had three of their four pitchers see action in game two and combined the three tallied seven total strikeouts.
The Blugolds wrap up their spring break series with a final doubleheader Friday evening at No. 21 Louisiana College starting at 2:00 and 4:00pm.
-MRW-