DE PERE, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point softball team got out to first-inning leads in both games, on its way to a doubleheader sweep of St. Norbert by scores of 8-7 and 5-1 on Thursday afternoon at Miron Construction Field at Mel Nicks Sports Complex.
UW-Stevens Point 8, St. Norbert 7 | BoxUW-Stevens Point (11-18) scored the game's first eight runs over the first two and a half innings and withstood a St. Norbert (10-16) rally to take the opener.
The Green Knights trailed by two entering the final inning but cut the Pointers' lead to a single run on a wild pitch that left the tying run at second with two outs. However, Gorges stranded the tying run at second with a strikeout looking to record her first save of the season, her second career save.
UW-Stevens Point got off to a quick start, plating four runs in the first inning. After the first two batters of the game were retired, the Pointers had four consecutive batters reach base on two walks and four hits in a row.
Bailie Sheahan (Salem, WI/Wilmot Union) delivered a RBI single to open the scoring and, two batters later,
Jodi Vanderford (Kenosha, WI/Mary D. Bradford) cleared the bases with a three-run double.
The Pointers added two runs each in the second and third innings, scoring multiple runs in each of the first three frames.
Paige Allen (South Elgin, IL/South Elgin) hit her team-best fifth home run of the season to account for UWSP's two runs in the second and two more came around to score in the third on an error.
St. Norbert scored single runs in the third and fourth before pushing across four runs in the fifth behind a four-hit inning. Emily Laufer and Samantha Gross each had three hits for the Green Knights, who outhit the Pointers 11-9, while MacKenzie Hazen scored three times.
Miranda Morrison (Madison, WI/East) improved to 6-7 this season by throwing the first five innings before giving way for Gorges. Allen scored twice and drove in two runs in addition to Vanderford's second three-RBI game of the season.
UW-Stevens Point 5, St. Norbert 1 | BoxAs in the opener, UW-Stevens Point jumped out to an early lead in its first at bat, scoring three times in the first and Gorges took care of the rest. The sophomore came within one batter of her second shutout of the season, as the only run she conceded was a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the seventh.
Gorges matched her career-high with six strikeouts, did not allow a walk and held St. Norbert to seven hits in her fourth win of the season. The Pointers backed her strong performance with 11 hits, led by
Sam Raddant (Shawano, WI/Shawano) and
Katie Uhlenbrauck (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) who were each 3-for-4.
Five of UWSP's first six batters reached base in the three-run first.
Jordon Schreiner (Kaukauna, WI/Kaukauna) and Sheahan each had RBI singles and Schreiner scored on a wild pitch. Schreiner added a run-scoring double in the fifth before Raddant drove in a run in the sixth.
Codi Jenshak had three of St. Norbert's seven hits in the game and was the lone Green Knight to have multiple hits off Gorges. Moran Rusch went the distance on the mound for SNC.
Winners of three of its last four games, UW-Stevens Point returns to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play with a doubleheader at UW-Stout on Saturday, April 18. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Menomonie.
