Softball Succumbs To Spartans On The Road

MONTGOMERY, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College dropped a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference road doubleheader to Aurora on Saturday at Bedrosian Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Warriors by scores of 7-5 and 7-2.

WLC (9-17, 2-10 NACC), which was in action for the first time this week, went ahead 1-0 in the first inning of the opener on a solo home run from sophomore Gwen Malecke (Gilberts, Ill.), her second of the season. In the fourth, sophomore Makayla Huff (Galesburg, Ill.) made it 2-0 with a RBI single that plated junior Ashley Corley (Plainfield, Ill.).

AU (17-11, 9-3 NACC) scored four runs on five hits in its half of the fourth inning to take a two-run lead. 

Wisconsin Lutheran came within a run in the fifth when junior Lexi Martin (Westfield, Ind.) drove home sophomore Taylor Peterson (Beloit, Wis.) with a RBI single. Aurora answered with three insurance runs in the sixth, including a pair of run-scoring doubles, for a 7-3 lead.

Malecke blasted her second home run of the game in the seventh, a two-out, two-run shot to bring the Warriors within two. Martin and Corley followed with singles, but the tying run remained on base when the final out was recorded.

Martin finished 3-for-4 with one RBI, Malecke was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs, while Corley and Peterson posted two hits apiece.

The Spartans scored a second-inning run on a bases-loaded walk for a 1-0 advantage. The Warriors loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fourth inning, but couldn't bring any runs home. AU carried that momentum over to its half of the fourth when it plated five runs on six hits for a 6-0 lead. Aurora added another score in the fifth on a RBI groundout for its final tally of the contest.

WLC finally broke through in the sixth for its first run on a RBI groundout from Huff that scored Corley. In the seventh, three straight batters reached with two outs, including a RBI single from Martin that drove in freshman Emily Cardenas (Lake Stevens, Wash.) to tie the career RBI record at 82.

Malecke and Martin each went 2-for-3 in the nightcap, with Martin and Huff driving in one run each. 

Wisconsin Lutheran hosts cross-town NACC foe MSOE (19-9, 11-3 NACC) tomorrow in a 12 p.m. doubleheader at Neumann Family Field. Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.