WAUWATOSA, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College opened its final homestand of the season by dropping two Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference games to Marian on Friday by scores of 5-1 and 9-1 in six innings at Neumann Family Softball Field.
GAME 1
The Warriors struck first in the opening inning, capitalizing on a pair of walks and a base hit from freshman
Kylie Gaston (Albertville, Minn.). Freshman
Maritza Martinez (Kenosha, Wis.) drove in sophomore
Sommer Krull (New London, Wis.) on a fielder's choice, giving WLC a 1–0 lead.
Freshman pitcher
Molly Kelly (Hortonville, Wis.) started strong for Wisconsin Lutheran, tossing 4.0 effective innings and allowing just one run. The Warriors' best opportunity to add to their lead came in the fourth, when they had two runners in scoring position with one out, but a strikeout and popup ended the threat.
After the Sabres tied the game in the fifth, WLC ran into trouble in the seventh. MU broke the 1–1 deadlock with a four-run outburst in the final frame, using five hits and capitalizing on a pair of defensive miscues.
Gaston and
Maritza Martinez each went 2-for-3 for Wisconsin Lutheran, with Gaston collecting the RBI.
Three players posted three hits apiece for Marian, including Kendall Pliner's 2-for-3, two-RBI performance. Sabrina Di Vito went the distance in the circle, scattering four hits while striking out five.
GAME 2
After a scoreless first two innings, the Sabres broke through with three runs on two hits in the top of the third. The Warriors answered in the bottom half after two outs with their lone run of the contest, as
Maritza Martinez singled and came around to score on a double by Gaston.
Trailing 3-1, WLC kept the game within reach through four innings. However, MU added a run in the fifth and broke it open with five runs in the sixth, stringing together six hits in the frame.
Offensively, Wisconsin Lutheran recorded six hits, led by Gaston and Krull, who each had extra-base hits.
Alexa Paulsberg went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, while McKenna Repovich pitched the final 3.0 innings of scoreless relief for Marian (20-16, 15-7 NACC).
The Warriors (9-27, 4-18 NACC) host Edgewood (12-25, 7-14 NACC) tomorrow for a 12 p.m. NACC Senior Day doubleheader at Neumann Family Softball Field. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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