PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point softball team (8-12) earned a split to open conference play at UW-Platteville on Saturday. The Pointers dropped game one by a 5-1 score before a game two win over the Pioneers, 7-5.
Sophomore
Payton Mix (New London, WI/New London) had three hits and drove in three important runs in the game two victory.
Paige Allen (South Elgin, IL/South Elgin) added four hits and had a RBI in each game.
Morgan Johnson (Combined Locks, WI/Kaukauna) also had four hits and scored the run in game one.
Game 1 – UWSP 1, UWP 5
Allen doubled with two down in the first, but UWSP could not take the early lead. UW-Platteville got a run in the bottom of the second for a 1-0 lead.
The Pointers got a two-out single from Johnson in the third. She moved to second after
Alyssa Cooper (Little Suamico, WI/Bay Port) drew a walk. Allen had her second hit of the game with a single to right to tie the game, 1-1.
The Pioneers struck for two runs in the bottom of the frame to break the tie. In the sixth, UWP added two more runs for the 5-1 win.
Amelia Heup (Milwaukee, WI/Lutheran) pitched a complete game with a pair of strikeouts and just one walk.
Game 2 – UWSP 7, UWP 5
UWSP scored first in game two.
Alexis Walters (Waterloo, Wis./Waterloo) singled with one down in the third. Johnson singled and Walters moved to third on a fielder's choice. Allen singled to drive in her second of the day and give the Pointers a 1-0 lead.
Paige Kitzing (Mount Pleasant, WI/J.I. Case) reached on a Pioneers error to begin the fourth. Two batters later,
Katie Uhlenbrauck (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) belted a two-run home run to put UWSP in front 3-0.
The Pioneers turned three hits into two runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 3-2 game.
Johnson began the Pointers' rally in the fifth with a single to right. Cooper and Allen singled to load the bases. Two batters later, UWSP scored its first run of the frame on another Platteville error. Then Mix laced a double to left to push home two more runs.
Again the Pioneers responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Three-straight hits and a wild pitch made it a one-run game for the second-consecutive inning.
In the seventh,
Jen Jacobson (Bolingbrook, IL/Bolingbrook) doubled to lead off. Pinch runner
Sydney Opdahl (Greenfield, WI/Whitnall) moved to third on a bunt by Kitzing. Mix hit a fly to left to drive home Opdahl for the 7-5 win.
Maddie Durie (Appleton, WI/East) pitched 5.0 innings to earn the win. She did not walk a batter.
Ashley Cohen (Wheaton, Ill./Glenbard South) tossed the final 2.0 innings to earn the save. She struck out two and did not issue a walk.
The Pointers head to Wisconsin Lutheran on Tuesday for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference doubleheader.
