ROCHESTER, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team faced Coe College on Saturday at the RCTC Dome in Rochester, earning a split on the day with two high-scoring games.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
In the opener, the Kohawks scored early and often to take a 10-1 lead into the top of the fifth before the Blugolds would rally for two in the bottom half of the inning to avoid the run-rule. In the bottom of the seventh, the Blugolds would fight for four more runs but it would not be enough as they would fall by a score of 10-7.
The Kohawks jumped to an early 2-0 lead after the first inning but in the bottom of the second, Sadie Erickson (Fr. – Norwood Young America, MN/Central) led off with a double to left field and would score on
Katelyn Yute's (Sr. – North Prairie, WI/Kettle Moraine) double to right in the following at bat to get Eau Claire on the board.
Coe would tack on two more runs in the third, five in the fourth and one in the fifth to take a 10-1 lead after four and half innings of play. But the Blugolds would refuse to back down. Fighting to keep the game alive, Bailee Sillman (Sr. – Chippewa Falls, WI/Chi-Hi) singled to center and advanced to second on a hit by pitch. Both runners would score thanks to a Meghan Witt (Jr. – Portage, WI) double to left field to make it 10-3.
The Blugold defense would hold the Kohawks scoreless in the sixth and seventh and in the bottom of the inning, Maria Back (Jr. – Rosemount, MN) would get the Blugolds rolling with a double to left and would score on the next play as Mikayla McEnery (Sr. – Savage, MN/Prior Lake) also doubled to left field. Witt then followed with a two-run homer to center, making it a 10-6 ballgame. After a fly out to right field for the second out, Megan Maruna (So. – Oswego, IL) singled and Jayden Hodgson (Fr. – Elk Mound, WI/Chi-Hi), running for Maruna, then advanced to second on an error. Yute's single to center would score Hodgson but the next batter would fly out to left, ending the comeback and handling Eau Claire their first loss of the season.
Sillman, Erickson, Witt and Yute would all collect two hits for the Blugolds with Witt leading the way with four RBIs and a homerun.
Morgan Sivak (Sr. – Oconomowoc, WI) took the loss in the circle, giving up six hits in three innings while also recording a strikeout and a walk.
Game two would again see the Kohawks strike first, tallying a run in the first. The Blugolds matched it in the top of the third but the lead was short-lived as Coe scored another run in the bottom half of the inning and recorded four more runs in the fourth. Eau Claire's offense would come alive again late in the game, scoring two in the fifth and six in the sixth to take the lead. Coe would add another run in the bottom of the sixth but it would not be enough as the Blugolds would hold on for the 9-7 win.
The first Blugold run in game two came from an RBI single by Maruna and she would be responsible for the second with an RBI double in the fifth. Maruna scored the next play on a Sillman single to center.
The Blugold rally in the sixth was fueled in part by an Abbey Place (Sr. – Naperville, IL/Central) double that plated two and a sacrifice fly and error would give Eau Claire two more runs. The final tally of the inning would come on a Taylor Nelson (Sr. Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Assumption) double, giving the Blugolds a 9-6 advantage.
Maruna led Eau Claire with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate in game two with a double and two RBIs. Yute, Place and McEnery also recorded two hits apiece.
Lauren Gamme (Fr. – Eagan, MN) got the win in her collegiate debut, scattering two hits in 3.1 innings. Gamme struck out four and issued two free passes.
The Blugolds (3-1) will be back in action at the RCTC Dome on Sunday, this time taking on Ripon College with game one beginning at 11 a.m. Follow the Blugolds all season long on Blugold Game Day.
