MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College snapped a six-game skid with a pair of run-rule victories over Alverno, 15-3 and 12-2, in five innings on Saturday in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader at Alverno Softball Field.
GAME 1
The Warriors struck first in the opening frame after sophomore
Madison Heller (South Milwaukee, Wis.) leadoff the game with a single and later came around to score on an error. Three consecutive run-scoring doubles from sophomore
Sommer Krull (New London, Wis.), senior
Gwen Malecke (Gilberts, Ill.), and freshman
Maritza Martinez (Kenosha, Wis.) and an RBI single by senior
Olivia Krieser (Stoughton, Wis.) pushed WLC's lead to 5-0 in the opening inning. Wisconsin Lutheran plated one final run in the first on a RBI groundout from senior
Allison Powers (Sun Prairie, Wis.) that scored Krieser. The Inferno plated a run in their half of the first to trim their deficit to 6-1.
The Warriors loaded the bases to start the second inning before Malecke was hit by pitch for the first run.
Maritza Martinez then delivered a grand-slam to left center to clear the bases and push WLC's advantage to 11-1. AC got a single tally back in the second to make it an 11-2 game.
After a leadoff single by freshman
Natalie Jordan (Cincinnati, Ohio) and a pair of wild pitches, Heller brought in a run on an infield single and later scored on a double by Krull. Malecke brought in the third run of the third inning on a sacrifice fly as Wisconsin Lutheran led 14-2. The Warriors added a single run in the fourth on a RBI single by Heller. Alverno scored a run in the fourth before the teams traded scoreless frames, closing out the 15-3 win for WLC.
Wisconsin Lutheran totaled 14 hits and had nine different players record a hit in the contest. Heller went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI, while
Maritza Martinez tallied five RBI in a 2-for-2 performance. Freshman
Kieghtan Rank (Madison, Wis.) recorded her third win of the season, allowing one earned run with three punchouts in 3.0 innings in the circle.
Alyssa Hubli paced the Inferno offensively with a pair of hits and runs scored while adding a RBI.
GAME 2
The Warriors broke onto the scoreboard first again with a three-run first inning after capitalizing on a pair of AC errors as Krull, Malecke, and
Maritza Martinez each tallied a RBI in the frame.
The game remained 3-0 until the fourth before Powers plated Krieser, who doubled to start the inning, to extend the lead to 4-0. Sophomore
Alea Anhalt (Fond du Lac, Wis.) brought in a pair to make it 6-0. With the bases loaded, Malecke brought in a run on a sacrifice fly before three consecutive walks pushed WLC's lead to 9-0. Alverno plated two runs in its half of the fourth, trimming the deficit to 9-2. Wisconsin Lutheran got the runs back in its half of the fifth on a two-run double by Krull, who later scored on an error as it closed out a 12-2 run-rule victory in five innings.
Anhalt finished 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI and three runs scored. Krull and Malecke added three and two RBI, respectively. Junior
Emily Brands (Zeeland, Mich.) earned her first win of the season after allowing no earned runs in 4.0 innings.
Jaycee Reyes recorded two of the three hits for Alverno (1-18, 0-8 NACC) in the contest.
The Warriors (8-15, 3-7 NACC) conclude their 10-game road trip with a NACC doubleheader at Benedictine (14-10, 3-5 NACC) on Sunday in Lisle, Illinois. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
Â
