OSHKOSH, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Sophomore
Molly Kelly (Hortonville, Wis.) had three hits and scored two runs for Wisconsin Lutheran College, which salvaged an opening day split with an 8-1 win over Beloit in game two on Sunday. The Warriors dropped the opener 5-1 to host No. 17 UW-Oshkosh at UW-Oshkosh Rec Plex.
UW-Oshkosh 5, Wisconsin Lutheran 1
The Warriors cracked the scoreboard first when freshman Anna Brackle (Brookfield, Wis.) plated junior
Sommer Krull (New London, Wis.) in the first inning. The Titans knotted the score at 1-1 in the second as the first three hitters reached base, but senior
Emily Brands (Zeeland, Mich.) stranded two runners in scoring position after sophomore
Maritza Martinez (Kenosha, Wis.) tagged a runner out at the plate on a squeeze attempt.
UWO seized control of the game with a three-run fourth inning and added another tally in the fifth, pushing its lead to 5-1. WLC tried to rally in the final frame when freshman
Katelyn Ruth (Canton, Mich.) led off with a double to the left center gap and freshman
Rebecca Reddeman (Canton, Mich.) followed with a single, but UW-Oshkosh escaped the jam with three consecutive outs, finalizing the game at 5-1.
Wisconsin Lutheran had six different players record a hit, led by Bracke's 2-for-3 performance with a RBI. Sophomore
Teagan Piven (Plainfield, Ill.) stranded two hits with a pair of strikeouts in 2.0 innings of relief.
Maddie Crick led the Tians (4-0) offensively with three hits and a walk, while three other players recorded multi-hit games. Brianna Bougie earned the win in the circle, delivering 6.0 innings and allowing just one run on five hits.
Wisconsin Lutheran 8, Beloit 1
The Warriors were first on the scoreboard again in the nightcap when Bracke singled home Kelly, who led off the game with a double to left field. The Bucs threatened with two runners on in the second inning, but sophomore
Brianna Wascher (South Elgin, Ill.) held the lead with a 5-3 double play. BC tied the game up, 1-1, an inning later on an infield single.
After a pair of Beloit errors opened WLC's half of the fourth, three straight singles up the middle from freshman
Peyton Crutcher (Ashwaubenon, Wis.), Reddeman, and sophomore
Daylanna Morgese (Milwaukee, Wis.) gave Wisconsin Lutheran a 5-1 lead. The Warriors added another run in the frame on a run-scoring single from Krull that plated Kelly.
WLC added insurance runs in the seventh on a RBI triple from junior
Julianna Alloy (Harrison Township, Mich.) to score freshman
Hannah Stellmacher (Fairwater, Wis.). Alloy came around to score a batter later on a pinch-hit single from sophomore
Natalie Jordan (Cincinnati, Ohio) to push Wisconsin Lutheran's advantage to 8-1.
The Warriors recorded 12 hits as a team, led by Kelly's three-hit performance which included a pair of doubles. Krull added two hits and a RBI . Wascher earned the win in the circle, allowing an earned run on five hits in 5.0 innings. Piven closed the game with 2.0 scoreless innings.
Kiley Hansen went 2-for-3 for the Bucs (1-3), while Avary Briggs suffered the loss after allowing just one earned run in 3.1 innings.
WLC (1-1) kicks off its spring break trip on Sunday when it travels to Melbourne, Florida, for the Space Coast Spring Games with matchups against Shenandoah (3-1) and Emerson (0-0) at 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. ET, respectively, at the USSSA Space Coast Complex.
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