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Long Day Falls
Short for Pointers at WIAC Tourney
Saturday was a long day at the ballpark for the
UW-Stevens Point softball team, but the Pointers wouldn�t have minded a
bit longer stay.
After losing a 4-2 eight-inning heartbreaker to
UW-Eau Claire to open the day, the Pointers rallied for two wins and
finally lost 1-0 to UW-Stout in their fourth game of the day at the
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament in Whitewater.
UW-Stevens Point completed
its season with a 26-15 record and fell one game short of the finals.
UW-Stout ended up beating UW-Eau Claire twice in the championship round
for the tournament title.
In the opener, the Pointers held a 1-0 lead over
UW-Eau Claire in the top of the seventh inning and Blugolds loaded the
bases with none out. Kelly Jablonski recorded a pair of strikeouts, but a
passed ball following the second strikeout allowed the tying run to score.
UW-Eau Claire scored three unearned runs in the top of the eighth and the
Pointers mounted a rally with a Rebekah Bauer home run in the bottom of
the inning before falling short.
UW-Stevens Point ousted UW-River Falls 2-1 in
the next round as Bauer drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the
sixth. Melissa Boldt gave the Pointers a 1-0 lead in the fifth before the
Falcons tied the game in the top of the sixth. Stephanie Anderson
scattered six hits for the win.
The Pointers fell behind UW-Oshkosh, but rallied
for a 4-1 lead on the strength of Laura Van Abel�s bat in the next game.
After Korryn Brooks tied the game with a run-scoring double in the fourth,
Van Abel slugged a two-run homer for a 3-1 lead and then added an RBI
double in the sixth. Jablonski allowed six hits for the victory.
UW-Stout�s Erin O�Connell hit a solo home run
with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning for the win in the final
game. It was one of only four hits off Anderson, while the Pointers had
six hits and runners in all but one inning. O�Connell also homered against
the Pointers in the WIAC tournament as a freshman to tie the game in the
seventh inning of an eventual 3-1 win. |
