WINONA, Minn. (Blugolds.com) - The 25th-ranked UW-Eau Claire softball team won two over Saint Mary's University (Minn.), 9-0 in five innings in game one and 8-0 in six innings in game two at SMU Field today.
The wins improve the Blugolds' record to 21-7 on the season while the Cardinals fall to 15-13. The shutouts were the 199th and 200th in program history while the last time the Blugolds had back-to-back shutouts was in the 2008 season (happened twice in the national tournament). It was also the first time since 2006 the Blugolds earned two shutouts on the same day against the same opponent.
The Blugolds combined for six home runs, three in game one and three in game two.
In game one, Nikki Bromelkamp (Jr.-Zumbrota, Minn./Zumbrota-Mazeppa) led off the second inning and nailed a home run to center field to give the Blugolds a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, which saw six runs, Emily Muller (Jr.-Lancaster, Wis.) hit a two-out grand slam to right center to give the Blugolds a 5-0 lead. Later in the inning, Jess Freagon (Jr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) homered to right field to drive in Sara Baumgartner (Sr.-Arcadia, Wis.). Aleisha Harper (Jr.-Mondovi, Wis./Eau Claire North) scored the Blugolds' final run in the fifth inning to give them a 9-0 lead.
Emma Wishau (Fr.-Waterford, Wis./Union) pitched five innings and struck out four batters while facing 17. She allowed only two hits and improved to 4-0 on the season.
Game two was similar to the first game, though the Blugolds got their bats going a little later.
With Harper scoring in the first inning to give Eau Claire a 1-0 lead, Baumgartner increased the lead in the fifth inning as she hit a home run to center field to bring in Muller and Harper. Again, there were two outs in the inning before the Blugolds began to score.
In the sixth inning, the Blugolds scored four more runs. Brittany Bergquist (So.-Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) nailed a homer to center field to drive in Haley Williams (Fr.-Waunakee, Wis.), and Muller hit a home run to left field later, which scored Ashley Kenworthy (So.-Tomah, Wis.) and gave Eau Claire an 8-0 lead.
In that game, Lauren Carlson (Fr.-Eagan, Minn.) earned the win to improve to 7-2 on the season. She faced 16 batters and struck out six while allowing four hits in four innings. Jess Hegseth (So.-Zumbrota, Minn./Zumbrota-Mazeppa ) closed the game.
Saturday, the Blugolds will be back in conference play when they travel to UW-Oshkosh for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
