DE PERE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College was unable to hold onto a pair of leads in both games of a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader with St. Norbert on Tuesday. The Warriors fell by scores of 7-6 and 12-10 at Miron Construction Field.
GAME 1
The Warriors wasted no time getting on the board in the opener, plating three runs in the top of the first. Sophomore
Madison Heller (South Milwaukee, Wis.) led off with a bunt single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman
Kylie Gaston (Albertville, Minn.). A two-run double from senior
Gwen Malecke (Gilberts, Ill.) gave WLC an early 3-0 advantage.
A defensive miscue by the Green Knights in the second inning allowed freshman
Kieghtan Rank (Madison, Wis.) to score, pushing the lead to 4-0. SNC cut the deficit in half in the fourth inning with a two-out, two-run triple.
Wisconsin Lutheran tacked on what seemed to be crucial insurance runs in the later innings. Senior
Olivia Krieser's (Stoughton, Wis.) RBI double in the sixth extended the lead to 5-2, and a sacrifice fly from Gaston in the seventh brought in another run, giving the Warriors a 6-2 cushion heading into the bottom of the final frame.
However, the Green Knights refused to go down quietly as they plated five runs on six hits in their last at-bat. SNC drove in runs with a groundout, a game-tying three-run double, and a walk-off RBI single.
Malecke, Krieser, and sophomore
Sommer Krull (New London, Wis.) collected two hits each for WLC. Malecke and Gaston drove in two runs apiece.
Grendel Sprong was one of three St. Norbert players with two hits. She added two RBI and a run scored. Zoe Zasada also drove in three runs. Amber Johanek pitched the final 3.0 innings to earn the win in relief.
GAME 2
Wisconsin Lutheran jumped out to a commanding lead in the nightcap, plating three runs in the first and five more in the second. Malecke's two-run single in the first, following by a second-inning three-run homerun from sophomore
Ally Stancel (Yorkville, Ill.) and Gaston's two-run blast helped the Warriors surge ahead 8-0 after just two innings.
The Green Knights began chipping away at the deficit in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer to get the hosts on the board. SNC's offense continued to find its rhythm, scoring in every inning but the first.
Trailing 9-7 entering the bottom of the sixth, St. Norbert erupted for five runs. A RBI single trimmed the lead to one before wild pitches and a sacrifice fly allowed the Green Knights to take their first lead of the game. The rally was capped with a sacrifice fly that allowed another run to score, making it 12-9. WLC loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh, but pushed across just one run on a RBI groundout by Stancel.
Gaston shined with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, belting a homer and driving in three runs. Stancel also had a big day with four RBI, while Malecke added two hits and two RBI.
For SNC (4-12, 3-1 NACC), Ava Engwall went 4-for-5 with a RBI and Allison Ardito went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Morgan Hansel finished with three RBI, while Grendel Sprong reached base four times and scored three runs.
Wisconsin Lutheran (6-13, 1-5 NACC) is scheduled to host MSOE (4-12, 0-0 NACC) on Sunday in a 12 p.m. NACC doubleheader at Neumann Family Softball Field. Live coverage links for both games can be found at WLCSports.com.
Â
