By Justin Dade – Sports Information
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team finished up their stay in Bloomington with a 2-1 win over Hope College (Mich.) and a 5-3 loss DePauw (Ind.) on Saturday.
The Blugolds got a strong performance on the mound from Zana Lorbetske (Sr. – Rhinelander, WI) in the win over Hope College surrendering one lone run on seven hits while striking out seven.
Sam Noetzelman (Jr. – Delano, MN) and Brooke Varian (Fr. – Madison, WI) drove in the two runs for the Blugolds in the game to earn the win.
Lauren Blasczyk (Jr. – Appleton, WI) got the start in game two vs. DePauw and gave up two runs on six hits in four innings of work. Lorbetske came in for relief in the fifth inning and surrendered three runs on five hits in three innings of work. After being credited with the loss in game two, Lorbetske's record will head to 4-4 on the season to pair with her win earlier in the day.
Varian continued her hot streak on the day delivering a two-run homerun in the fourth inning driving home Gracia Larson (Sr. – Eau Claire, WI) to tie the game up 2-2.
DePauw would end up on top, however, with a two-run homer of their own in the seventh inning. The Blugolds were unable to answer in the bottom half of the inning as they will fall to 9-9 on the season.
UW-Eau Claire will finish 1-3 in the Illinois Wesleyan Tournament over the weekend.
The Blugolds will open up WIAC conference play on Tuesday with a double-header at UW-La Crosse and will follow that up with a two-game stint at UW-River Falls on Wednesday.
