EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team split with UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, falling in game one 11-3 before belting 19 hits in a 16-11 win in game two.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
The Pointers jumped to an early lead in game one and scored in every inning to win 11-3 in six innings. The Blugolds were held to six hits, two coming from Mikayla McEnery (Sr. – Savage, MN/Prior Lake) in the leadoff spot which also included a double. Megan Maruna (So. – Oswego, IL) also hit her third homerun of the season.
Eau Claire turned things around quickly in game two, putting up five runs in the first. McEnery led off with a double and she moved to third on an Ellie Decker (Jr. – Germantown, WI) single. McEnery would score on Abbey Place's (Sr. – Naperville, IL/Central) sacrifice bunt to put the Blugolds on the board. Sadie Erickson (Fr. – St. Paul, MN/North) then belted her sixth long ball of the season to add two more runs. Maria Back (Jr. – Rosemount, MN) would later follow with a two-run blast of her own to cap the inning.
Three straight hits started the Blugold second inning, and two runs would score following a Pointer error.
In the third, Back would hit her second homer of the game and seventh of the year to keep the offense going. Two more runs would cross in the inning to give Eau Claire a 10-2 lead heading into the bottom of the third. However, Stevens Point would rally for five runs of their own in the inning to close the gap.
After the Pointers tallied another run in the fourth, the Blugolds pounded out five more runs in the fifth. After an RBI single by Decker, Place homered to center field. In the very next at bat, Erickson followed with another homerun to center, her second of the game and fifth for the Blugolds. Katelyn Yute's (Sr. – North Prairie, WI/Kettle Moraine) RBI single to center would add the fifth run of the inning.
The Pointers would tally two runs in the sixth and both squads would plate runs in the seventh, finishing the game in a 16-11 Eau Claire victory. The Blugolds would record 19 hits, including five homeruns and three doubles.
Erickson and Back recorded two homeruns and three RBIs each, finishing the game 2-for-5 and 2-for-4, respectively. Place also was 2-for-4 with a homerun and knocked in four runs. Decker also has an impressive game at the plate, going a perfect 5-for-5 scoring four runs and knocking in two more.
Morgan Sivak (Sr. – Oconomowoc, WI) earned the win on the mound, giving up three run on three hits in 3.2 innings. The senior righthander improves to 8-5 on the season.
Eau Claire (19-11, 7-3 WIAC) will go back on the road Wednesday as they travel to River Falls to take on the Falcons. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day.
