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Van Abel Leads
Record-Setting Opening Day
Laura Van Abel enjoyed the best single-game
hitting performance in UW-Stevens Point softball history in leading the
Pointers to a season-opening sweep of Augsburg on Friday in Minneapolis.
Van Abel hit for the cycle and finished
six-for-six with seven RBI�s as the Pointers pounded out a single-game
school record 19 hits to beat the Auggies 16-6 in the second game of the
doubleheader. UW-Stevens Point also had a big offensive performance in
the first game with 12 hits in a 9-1 win in Augsburg�s indoor facility.
Van Abel�s six hits were a single-game school
record. She also became just the 13th player in NCAA Division III
history and first since 1998 to record six hits in a game. Van Abel was
one-for-three with an RBI in the first game to finish seven-for-nine for
the day.
Stephanie Anderson pitched a complete game
four-hitter in the opening game and then retired all nine batters faced
in the second game to earn a save in relief of winning pitcher Hope
Krause. Anderson added a school record of her own in the second game by
drawing five walks in five plate appearances. The Pointers drew a
single-game school record 10 walks in the second game.
UW-Stevens Point scored in every inning and
won the opener in six innings by the eight-run rule. Danielle Ashbeck
and Chelsea McIlquham were each three-for-four and McIlquham broke the
game open with a two-run double in the fifth.
The Pointers trailed 4-0 after two innings in
the second game, but then put up five runs in the third as Van Abel hit
a three-run homer and McIlquham had a two-run single. Van Abel, who had
a single in the first inning added a run-scoring triple in the third,
and a RBI double in the fourth. She also had singles in each of the next
two innings before ending the game on deck.
Korryn Brooks gave the Pointers an 11-6 lead
with a three-run homer in the fifth. She finished three-for-six with
four RBI�s. Mandy Jellish was three-for-four and Melissa Boldt was
two-for-three. |
