|
Pointers'
Offense Shut Down By Pioneers' Pitching
Offense carried the UW-Stevens Point softball
team through its first 14 games, but the Pointers were held to their
season-lows in hits and runs on Tuesday in a doubleheader loss to
UW-Platteville at McCarty Field.
The Pointers had a season-low three hits in a
3-1 opening game loss and then were shutout for the first time all season
in a 4-0 second game setback. It was the conference opener for both teams
as UW-Stevens Point fell to 10-5-1 overall and UW-Platteville is now 7-9.
The Pointers entered the day ranked 17th in the
NCAA Division III with a .354 team batting average, but Pioneers� pitchers
Katie Larson and Maggie Medlicott kept UW-Stevens Point�s hitters off
stride the whole day.
Freshman catcher Kristen Konieczny provided the
Pointers� lone offensive highlight with a solo home run to centerfield to
the lead off the third inning of the first game. She also was one of only
two Pointers� players with two hits in the second game as Medlicott, a
sophomore, scattered eight hits in her first career shutout. Laura Van
Abel was also two-for-three in the nightcap.
UW-Platteville left nine runners on base in the
first four innings of the first game, which was tied 1-1 before Pioneers�
centerfielder Abby Lalko lined a two-out, two-run single in the sixth
inning to break the tie. Lalko also drove in her team�s first run with a
run-scoring double in the first inning. Tera Burr was four-for-four and
Lalko was three-for-four in the opening game for UW-Platteville.
Larson had six strikeouts and two walks her
complete game, while Medlicott finished with three strikeouts and no walks
in her second game victory. Ashley Tobalsky took the loss in the opener
and Allison Dorn was the losing pitcher in the second game for UW-Stevens
Point.
Five of the Pioneers� first six hitters had
singles as they built a 3-0 lead in the second game. Lalko had a sacrifice
fly before back-to-back run-scoring singles from Ashley Strnad and Maggie
Digman. Strnad drove in the Pioneers� fourth run with a run-scoring double
in the third inning.
The Pointers had hits in six different innings
and a runner at second with nobody out in three of the first five innings,
but failed to get the timely hit. Hope Krause pitched four scoreless
innings in relief for the Pointers, recording groundballs on 11 of her 12
outs. The Pioneers grounded out 16 times in the game. |
