DE PERE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire softball team recorded two wins over St. Norbert College, winning game one 4-3 in 10 innings and game two 2-1 at Mel Nicks Field today.
The last time the Blugolds played 10 or more innings was 2009 while it was just the sixth time since 2000 the Blugolds played 10 or more innings. Eau Claire is now 22-10 on the season while St. Norbert is 11-14.
In game one, the teams traded leads a couple times but found themselves tied at three apiece after the seventh inning.
St. Norbert was up 1-0 after the third inning but a two-run homer by Sarah Fern (Jr.-Brooklyn Center, Minn./Park Center) in the fourth gave the Blugolds a 2-1 lead. Nikki Bromelkamp (Sr.-Zumbrota, Minn./Zumbrota-Mazeppa) scored on the home run, which was Fern's seventh of the year.
While the Green Knights tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, Eau Claire again took the lead after Amanda Fischer (Fr.-Wausau, Wis./West) hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh. But with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, St. Norbert brought in one run to send the game into extra innings.
Both teams had runners in scoring position between the eighth and 10th innings, but it wasn't until Fischer hit a single in the top of the 10th to allow Amanda Houle (So.-Chisago City, Minn./Chisago Lakes) to score, giving the Blugolds a 4-3 lead. The Green Knights left two runners on base in the bottom of the 10th as the Blugolds held on for the win.
Eau Claire finished the game with 13 hits while the Green Knights had 11.
Laura Raflik (Fr.-Plover, Wis./Pacelli) earned the win to improve to 3-0 on the season as she pitched the final 3.1 innings. She struck out one batter and allowed just two hits. Emma Wishau (So.-Waterford, Wis./Union) pitched the first 6.2 innings and struck out one batter while giving up three runs on nine hits.
In game two, St. Norbert scored one run in the bottom of the fifth but the Blugolds scored runs in the top of the final two innings to win 2-1.
Down 1-0, a Fern single in the top of the sixth scored Fischer while a Fischer double scored Taylor Pierce (Fr.-Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon) in the top of the seventh.
The Blugolds had a total of seven hits. Fischer and Fern had two apiece to lead the game.
Ashley Meinen (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) pitched the complete game to improve to 9-3 on the season. She threw a career-high nine strikeouts.
The Blugolds are currently on a six-game winning streak.
Monday, the Blugolds will be at UW-Superior for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for Sunday but changed to Monday due to forecasted weather conditions.
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