Softball Splits With Lakeland Monday At Home

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - The Wisconsin Lutheran College softball team snapped a four-game losing streak to Lakeland after holding on for a 2-1 win in the opener of its NACC doubleheader on Monday afternoon at Neumann Family Field. The Muskies won the nightcap over the Warriors in six innings, 14-3

THE BASICS

• Scores: Wisconsin Lutheran 2, Lakeland 1; Lakeland 14, Wisconsin Lutheran 3 (6 Inn.)
• Location: Neumann Family Field, Milwaukee, Wis.
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (9-17, 6-8 NACC), Lakeland (12-16, 4-8 NACC)

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Warriors escaped a first-inning jam by stranding the bases full of Muskies, and later took a 1-0 lead in the second after Taylor Bjork (Horicon, Wis./Horicon) scored on a muffed throw by the catcher following a Karah Ritacco (Chicago, Ill./Trinity) groundout to the pitcher.
• Lakeland knotted the score at 1-1 in the fourth on a RBI single.
• After two scoreless innings, Wisconsin Lutheran placed runners on second and third with nobody out and Melissa Ericson's (Lisle, Ill./Lisle) pinch-hit sac fly to right scored Megan Belongia (Ashwaubenon, Wis./Ashwaubenon) for a 2-1 Warriors lead.
• LU put the leadoff runner on in the seventh, but Abby Mahsem (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) retired the next three batters in order to seal the win for WLC.
• Ellen Davis (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) went 3-for-3 to lead the Warriors at the plate. Bjork and Kaitlyn Robison (Andalusia, Ill./Rockridge) added two hits each. Mahsem overcame six walks to win her fourth game of the year. She scattered five hits over 7.0 innings for her fifth complete game this season.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• Both teams left two runners on base in the scoreless opening frame before the visitors plated two runs on a pair of RBI singles in the second.
• The Warriors tied the game at 2-2 the next half inning on consecutive RBI singles from Robison and Rebecca Yniguez (Wildomar, Calif./California Lutheran).
• The Muskies broke the tie score in the third with four runs on five hits, but were aided by two Warriors errors in the frame.
• Wisconsin Lutheran plated its final run in the third when Savanah Frank (Crystal Lake, Ill./South) knocked in Davis with WLC's third straight single of the inning.
• After a scoreless fourth, LU scored twice in the fifth on just one hit, and broke the game open with six runs on six hits in the sixth. Eight consecutive batters reached base for the Muskies in the frame. The contest was called after 6.0 complete due to run-rule.
• Frank and Paris McCullum (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) tallied two hits each for the Warriors in the nightcap. Bjork was dealt the loss in the circle after giving up eight runs (seven earned) in 4.0 innings.

FOR THE FOES

• Megan Laib collected two of the Muskies' five hits to lead her team in the opener. Niki Saviano suffered the loss in 6.0 innings of work, allowing an earned run on nine hits.
• Mikayla Hilton was 4-for-4 with three runs scored and a RBI and Calie Delisi went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored for the Muskies in game two. Taylor Bush allowed three runs (two earned) in 6.0 innings to register the win in the circle.

UP NEXT

• The Warriors continue their busy week on Wednesday with another NACC doubleheader against Dominican (23-9, 8-6 NACC) in Rosemont, Ill. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Links to live stats and video will be available for both games at WLCSports.com. The Stars swept WLC in Milwaukee a season ago.