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Dramatic
Falcons' Rally Costs Pointers on First Day
One out away from a perfect opening day at the
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball tournament,
UW-Stevens Point saw UW-River Falls use a dramatic seventh inning rally
and then explode for a big ninth inning to hand the Pointers an 11-7
setback on Friday in Eau Claire.
The Pointers hit seven home runs in their
first two games, but slipped to 31-7 with the split and now must win
five straight games on Saturday to capture the WIAC tournament title.
They face UW-Whitewater in the first elimination game at 9 a.m.
After winning their opening game of the day
9-1 over UW-La Crosse, the Pointers led UW-River Falls 5-3 with two outs
and a runner at second base in the top of the seventh. However, the
Falcons got back-to-back run-scoring singles from Rebecca Troop and
Ashley James to tie the game.
UW-River Falls then broke out for a huge
inning with seven singles in the ninth inning. Mindy Rudiger and Emily
Howlett each had hits in the inning and finished with four apiece for
the game. UW-Stevens Point�s Stephanie Anderson hit a two-run homer in
the bottom of the ninth to provide the final margin.
UW-Stevens Point scored all of its runs off
home runs in the second game and got off to a fast start as Korryn
Brooks hit a three-run homer in the first inning. After UW-River Falls
plated two runs in the third, Pointers� senior Melissa Boldt hit a
two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to regain the three-run lead.
UW-River Falls scored a run in the fourth before its dramatic seventh
inning rally.
Anderson pitched eight and one-third innings
and allowed 17 hits and 10 runs, though nine of the hits and seven of
the runs came in the final two and one-third innings. UW-River Falls had
19 hits, while the Pointers totaled 11 hits in the loss.
In the opener, the Pointers set a single-game
school record with four home runs, getting solo shots from Brooks in the
first inning, Jackie Berger in the third and Anderson in the fourth.
Laura Van Abel added a two-run homer in the fifth as the Pointers won by
the eight-run rule.
UW-Stevens Point pounded out 12 hits in the
victory and its first nine hits came from all nine players in the
lineup. Anderson worked all five innings and scattered eight hits for
the team�s eighth straight victory. |
