EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team held their home opening series on Wednesday as they celebrated Military Appreciation Day and Youth Day during a doubleheader matchup with St. Nobert College. The Blugolds' offense complimented their pitching during both games as they outscored the Green Knights 25-4 en route to an afternoon sweep.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
In the opening game, St. Norbert College found the game's first tallies on a two run RBI single up the middle in the first half inning of play. UW-Eau Claire stuck to their game plan and answered in the bottom of the first as Haley Lamberson (Sr. – Silver Lake, Minn./Wilmot Union) bunted in Chloe Garofalo (So. – Kenosha, Wis./Bradford) from third base to cut the early deficit to 2-1. The Blugolds kept their momentum going in the second as they allowed only one hit and caught the runner stealing from first to keep the Green Knights quiet. The offense took the lead in the bottom of the second on crucial baserunning from the Blugolds. After Kenna Strunsee (So. – Waukesha, Wis./South) and Ali Schoenrock (So. – Blaine, Minn.) opened the half inning up with back-to-back singles, Megan Patterson (So. – Johnsburg, Ill.) grounded out to second base to advance Schoenrock to second and Strunsee across home. Two batters later, Shaelyn Talley (Sr. – Wausau, Wis./West) reached first on an overthrow by the St. Norbert pitcher, scoring Schoenrock from third to earn Eau Claire's first lead of the afternoon. Chloe Garofalo extended the lead during the next at bat by grounding out and advancing Schoenrock across home plate for the 4-2 advantage.
The Green Knights found a single run in the top of the third inning on a RBI single up the middle, making it a one run game. Both teams were kept off the board in their following half innings until UWEC erupted in the bottom of the fourth.
After earning a leadoff walk, Paige Lathrop (Fr. – South Milwaukee, Wis.) advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Shaelyn Talley to open things up for Eau Claire. Chloe Garofalo brought Lathrop around home in the next at bat with a triple to left centerfield. Haley Lamberson scored Garofalo from third during her second at bat of the game to extend Eau Claire's lead to 6-3. Following another St. Norbert error, Madi Zerr (Sr. – Bristol, Wis./Wilmot Union) singled through the right side to clear the bases and sending Lamberson and Megan Maruna (Sr. – Oswego, Ill.) across home for Eau Claire's third and fourth runs of the half inning. The Blugolds weren't done their as Zerr scored on a wild pitch three batters later and Paige Lathrop hit a two-run single up the middle to cap off UWEC's seven-run inning.
As UW-Eau Claire held an 11-3 lead in the fifth inning, the Green Knights added one run on a ground out to first base to avoid the run rule after four and a half innings. The Blugolds would seal the run rule the in the bottom of the fifth as Madi Zerr collected her third hit and third RBI of the game on a hard driven ball to left center that ended the game 12-4.
Along with her dominant offensive production, Zerr pitched four innings, stranded five runners on base, and kept St. Norbert to eight hits through twenty batters to collect her third win of the year. Zerr is now 3-6 on the season. Kenna Strunsee went a perfect 3-for-3 from the batter's box and crossed home twice as Eau Claire took game one in five innings.
Game two carried momentum from the first game with dominance on both sides on the field. Megan Maruna git things started in the bottom of the first with an RBI groundout to second base for a 1-0 lead. In the second inning, Eau Claire opened the flood gates once again as seven Blugolds recorded at least one RBI during the half inning. Ali Schoenrock, Megan Patterson, and Paige Lathrop recorded three straight RBI doubles to the outfield extending Eau Claire's lead to 4-0. Chloe Garofalo joined the fun in the second with an RBI single up the middle two batters later during her second at bat of the game. Garofalo was brought across home on a Megan Maruna double to right field later in the inning to extend the lead to 6-0. Madi Zerr and Kenna Strunsee collected the final two RBIs of the inning as the Blugolds batted around during their second seven-run inning of the afternoon.
While the offense jumped out to an 8-0 lead after two innings of play, Jacie Schultz (So. – Lake Crystal, Minn./Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) and the defense kept the Green Knights off the board allowing only one hit during game two. UWEC added five more runs in the following two innings as Chloe Garofalo finished the day with 5 hits, 5 RBIs, and 5 runs in her 8 at bats. Madi Zerr led the team with six RBIs during the doubleheader on four hits.
With a 12-0 lead heading into the fourth inning, Jocelyn Hancock (Jr. – Verona, Wis.) took the mound for UWEC as the defensive looked to lock down the Green Knights. In two innings pitched, Hancock struck out two, allowed zero hits and sealed the 13-0 shutout for Eau Claire in her seventh appearance of the season. Jacie Schultz would earn her fourth win of the year and improved her record to 4-1.
The Blugolds (12-10, 1-1 WIAC) will return to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play on Friday, April 14th when they travel to UW-Oshkosh. Eau Claire will face the No. 19 ranked Titans in an afternoon doubleheader with game one set to begin at 2PM.
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