STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point softball team (10-8) got to play on its home field for the first time since April 2017 and although not ideally field conditions, the Pointers came away with a split against visiting Lakeland University (6-8).  In game one, freshman Haley Barnes (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) tossed a two-hit shutout, 7-0.  The Muskies took game two, 7-1, despite UWSP out-hitting Lakeland, 12-10.
 
Sophomore Lauren Luedtke (Lomira, Wis./Lomira) and freshman Madi Greenaberg (Downers Grove, Ill./North) had three hits and two RBI each.  Fellow freshman Jordyn Hynst (West Bend, Wis./East) added a pair of hits in each game.  Maddie Candre (St. Charles, Ill./East) had four hits on the day with an RBI and a run scored.
 
Fellow freshman Sammy Buerger (Oshkosh, Wis./North) hit her first career home run in game two.  She collected three hits on the day and scored three times over the doubleheader. 
 
Game 1 – UWSP 7, Lakeland 0
Buerger drew a one-out walk in the first and moved to second on a wild pitch.  Candre followed with a double to put UWSP on the board.  Ashley Cohen (Wheaton, Ill./Glenbard South) also hit a double to move Candre to third.  A sac fly by Luedtke made it 2-0.  Greenaberg capped the three-run inning with an RBI double.
 
In the third, Buerger against sparked a rally with a leadoff single.  She stole second and moved to third with two down.  Luedtke drove her home with a single and moved into scoring position on an error.  Greenaberg hit an RBI single and the lead was 5-0.
 
Hynst began the UWSP fourth with a single.  Rachael Wakefield (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) put down a sacrifice bunt, but an errant throw allowed her to reach and put two in scoring position.  Morgan Johnson (Combined Locks, Wis./Kaukauna) plated both runners to push the advantage to 7-0.
 
Barnes stifled the Muskies' offense in the shutout win.  She gave up just two hits and struck out a season-high seven.
 
Game 2 – UWSP 1, Lakeland 7
The Muskies scored twice in the first after a hit-by-pitch, two singles and an RBI groundout.  Lakeland used a pair of hits in the third to up the lead to 3-0.  In the fifth, a leadoff walk turned into a run after a sac bunt and a double to put UWSP behind 4-0.
 
Buerger popped her first career home run in the fifth.  She drilled a 1-1 pitch to left, clearing the fence with ease, to get the Pointers on the board.
 
Lakeland tacked on three more runs in the seventh on four-consecutive hits and a sac fly.  The Pointers had runners on base in every inning, but were unable to sustain a rally in the defeat.
 
Anna Palicka (Lisle, Ill./Lisle) started and pitch 4.1 innings.  She struck out six.  Barnes tossed the final 2.2 frames with one strikeout.
 
The Pointers travel to Augustana and Grinnell for a pair of twin bills this weekend.  Saturday's first pitch in Illinois is set for 12:00 p.m.