LA CROSSE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire softball team dropped a non-conference doubleheader to UW-La Crosse on Tuesday night. The Blugolds lost by a score of 6-3 in game one before falling in game two on a walk-off homerun, 8-5.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
In the first game of the day, the Eagles scored in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. The Blugolds would tie it up in the second thanks to a Katelyn Yute (Sr. – North Prairie, WI/Kettle Moraine) homerun to left center.
La Crosse added two in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead heading into the fifth. In the top half of the inning, Bailee Sillman (Sr. – Chippewa Falls, WI/Chi-Hi) doubled to right center and would later score on a groundout. In the bottom half, the Eagles added three more runs to increase their lead to 6-2. Eau Claire would tally one more run in the sixth before falling by a final of 6-3.
Sadie Erickson (Fr. – St. Paul, MN/North) led the Blugold offense, collecting two of the team's six hits and also knocked in a run. Madi Zerr (So. – Bristol, WI/Wilmot Union) took the loss on the mound, giving up seven hits while striking out five in 4.1 innings.
La Crosse again took an early lead in game two, scoring three runs in the first and one in the second. Eau Claire fought back, tallying two runs in the third and three in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. Abbey Place (Sr. – Naperville, IL/Central) knocked in both Blugold runs in the third thanks to a single up the middle and the Eau Claire fourth was highlighted by a two-run triple by Megan Maruna (So. – Oswego, IL), her fourth of the season.
However, the Eagles tied it up in the fifth and would win the game on a three-run homerun in the seventh.
Place led the Blugolds, finishing the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Maruna and Maria Back (Jr. – Rosemount, MN) were both 2-for-3.
Eau Claire (21-15, 7-5 WIAC) will be back at Bollinger Field for the regular season finale on Friday when they host UW-Platteville. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day.
