Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box

STEVENS POINT – The UW-Stevens Point softball team had its bats working today as they swept UW-Platteville, winning game one 14-13 and game two 9-1 in five innings at McCarty Field.

The Pointers improve to 20-6 this season and 6-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Pointers have now posted 15 consecutive 20-win seasons. The Pioneers drop to 8-14 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

Game one was a slugfest as both teams combined to hit eight home runs and only the seventh inning did not have a run scored. The Pointers tied a school record by hitting four home runs. It started right out of the gate as the Pioneers hit a solo home run to lead off the game. Platteville added two more runs in the inning to take a 3-0 lead. The Pointers got a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 3-2.

After the Pioneers added a run in the second, the Pointers would strike with seven runs in the bottom of the second. With one out, three straight singles loaded the bases. Following a wild pitch that allowed one run to score, Danielle Ashbeck (Wabeno/Wabeno) (Sr.-Wabeno) hit a three-run home run to give the Pointers a 6-4 lead. Later in the inning, Brittany Zelenka (Marathon/Marathon) (So.-Marathon) hit another three-run home run to make it 9-4.

Platteville responded by scoring three in the top of the third, but the Pointers got all three of those runs back in the bottom frame. Laura Van Abel (Kaukauna/Kaukauna) (Sr.-Kaukauna) began the inning with a solo home run, her 13th of her career, which ties a school record. Then with a runner on base Chelsea McIlquham (Sun Prairie/Sun Prairie) (Sr.-Sun Prairie) hit a two-run home run to make the score 12-7 after three.

The Pioneers did not quit as they would chip away at the lead. After getting a run in the fourth, Platteville hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth to make the score 12-10. Then in the sixth with two runners on, the Pioneers drilled a three-run home run to take a 13-12 lead.

However, this wild game had another twist, as the Pointers tied the game on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth. Then Laura Van Abel (Kaukauna/Kaukauna) then ripped a RBI single to drive in Kim Liegel (Fr.-Madison/LaFollette) from second to give Stevens Point a 14-13 lead. Platteville had a deep fly ball to begin the seventh, but would be held scoreless for the first time as the Pointers prevailed 14-13.

Allison Dorn (Greenville/Fox Valley Lutheran) (Jr.-Greenville/Fox Valley Lutheran) (2-1) picked up the win in relief for the Pointers. Laura Van Abel (Kaukauna/Kaukauna) was 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs.

Game two started out much slower than the first game. The game was scoreless all the way until the top of the third when the Pioneers got a run on the board thanks to three Pointer errors in the inning. The Pointers tied it up in the bottom half when Korryn Brooks (Stevens Point/SPASH) (Sr.-Stevens Point/SPASH) hit a RBI single. Brooks scored later in the inning to give Stevens Point a 2-1 lead.

The Pointers put the game out of reach in the fourth scoring six runs, five of which with two outs. Chelsea McIlquham (Sun Prairie/Sun Prairie) led off the inning with a solo home run. Then after two straight outs, the Pioneers hit three consecutive batters to load the bases. A dropped fly ball then allowed three runs to score to extend the lead to 6-1. Danielle Ashbeck (Wabeno/Wabeno) then drilled a two-RBI double to make it 8-1. Kim Liegel hit a RBI single in the fifth to end the game by final score of 9-1.

Kayla Kastenmeier (Ashwaubenon/Ashwaubenon) (So.-Ashwaubenon) (12-2) was superb for the Pointers in the second game as she had nine strikeouts, allowed just one hit and one walk to get the win. Korryn Brooks (Stevens Point/SPASH) was 3-for-3 with a RBI to lead the Pointers at the plate.

The Pointers scheduled doubleheader against Edgewood College on Sunday has been cancelled due to Edgewood having to make up conference games. The next scheduled game for the Pointers is next Tuesday when they host St. Norbert College for a doubleheader at McCarty Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.