Softball Suffers Sweep Against Defending NACC Tourney Champs

LISLE, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - The Wisconsin Lutheran College softball team dropped a pair of NACC games on the road against Benedictine by scores of 10-4 in game one and 4-2 in the nightcap on Saturday afternoon at the Sports Complex.

THE BASICS

• Scores: Benedictine 10, Wisconsin Lutheran 4; Benedictine 4, Wisconsin Lutheran 2
• Location: The Sports Complex, Lisle, Ill.
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (8-16, 5-7 NACC), Benedictine (20-8, 10-2 NACC)

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• The hosts exploded for five runs on six hits in the opening inning to break open the game.
• BenU added three more runs in the third, beginning with a lead-off solo blast from Holly Haberkorn for an 8-0 lead.
• Ellen Davis (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) got the Warriors on the board in the fourth with a RBI double to left field. WLC plated two more runs in the inning on a throwing error to trim the deficit to 8-3.
• The Eagles answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth and added another run on a solo home blast from Kassee Johnson in the sixth.
• Paris McCullum (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) had a RBI double in the seventh for the Warriors to cap the scoring.
• Abby Mahsem (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) suffered the loss in the circle, giving up 10 hits and eight earned runs. Karah Ritacco (Chicago, Ill./Trinity) went 3-for-3 for WLC in game one, while McCullum added a pair of hits. BenU out-hit Wisconsin Lutheran 13-8, despite the hosts committing four errors.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Eagles once again put up a crooked number in the first, this time scoring three runs on six hits in the opening frame.
• Benedictine added an insurance run in the second, but the WLC pitching staff would not allow another run over the next five innings.
• Brea Johnson (Cumberland, Wis./Cumberland) doubled to the gap in left center to score Davis to get the Warriors on the board and cut the deficit to 4-1 in the fourth.
• Davis cut the deficit in half with a solo blast in the sixth inning, the first of her career. 
• Taylor Bjork (Horicon, Wis./Horicon) suffered the defeat in 0.2 innings of work. Davina Gutierrez (Chicago, Ill./Dwight D. Eisenhower) pitched a solid 5.1 innings of relief, allowing one run on six hits to keep WLC within striking distance.
• Davis and Johnson paced the Warriors offense with two hits apiece in the nightcap.

FOR THE FOES

• Haberkorn earned her conference-leading 14th win of the season in the opener, allowing three earned runs and eight hits in a complete-game effort. Four Eagles recorded multiple hits in the contest.
• Nicole Parney earned her fifth win in the circle, pitching a complete game while allowing only one earned run on eight hits. Kelli Holstine was 3-for-3 for the Eagles, and Courtney Grasz blasted a three-run home run.

UP NEXT

• The Warriors open a busy eight-game week on Monday with a doubleheader against Lakeland (11-15, 3-7 NACC) at Neumann Family Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Muskies, who swept the Warriors a season ago, are coming off two losses against Marian on Wednesday.