ST. PAUL, Minn. – The UW-Stevens Point softball team (0-4) fell behind in both games of the doubleheader with Hamline (4-0) and were unable to rally back all the way in either game.  In game one, the Pointers fell behind 7-0 and dropped the game, 9-4.  In game two, the deficit was just three early, but UWSP came up short, 7-4.
 
Junior Ashley Cohen (Wheaton, Ill./Glenbard South) had four hits on the day, including a pair of doubles.  She went 3-for-3 in game two and scored a run.
 
Senior Morgan Johnson (Combined Locks, Wis./Kaukauna) contributed three hits on the day.  She scored a run in game one and had a double in game two.
 
Sophomore Lauren Luedtke (Lomira, Wis./Lomira) also had three hits, hitting safely in both games. She had an RBI in game one and scored a run in game two.
 
Game 1 – UWSP 4, Hamline 9
The Pipers scored a pair of runs in the first inning on three hits to take a 2-0 lead.  In the third, back-to-back walks to start the frame opened the door for a five-run inning for Hamline as UWSP fell behind, 7-0.
 
The Pointers began to rally in the fourth.  Sammy Buerger (Oshkosh, Wis./North) led off with a double.  She moved to third on an infield single by Maddie Candre (St. Charles, Ill./East).  A double steal plated the first run of the game for UWSP.  Consecutive hits by Johnson and Luedtke plated another run.  Two batters later, Haley Barnes (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) flew out to center for a sac fly and an RBI to make it 7-3.
 
Hamline responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth on three hits, including an inside-the-park home run.
 
Erin Schmitt (Waupan, Wis./Waupan) began the fifth with her first career hit, an infield single.  Cohen singled and both runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch.  With two away, a Hamline error gave UWSP a run to close to within 9-4.
 
The Pointers got two runners on in the sixth and a single by Rachael Wakefield (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) in the seventh, but were unable to push home a run in either frame.
 
Anna Palicka (Lisle, Ill./Lisle) started the game in the circle and struck out three over two innings of work.  Anna Pistone (Appleton, Wis./East) made her pitching debut and recorded her first career strikeout.  Cohen threw the final three innings and struck out two.
 
Game 2 – UWSP 4, Hamline 7
After both teams were retired in order in the first, the second inning again doomed the Pointers.  A leadoff walk began a three-run inning that saw Hamline record three hits.  Two of the runs scored with two away and starting pitcher Barnes escaped with the bases loaded to end the frame.
 
Cohen started the bottom of the second with a double.  Luedtke followed with a single and Madi Greenaberg (Downers Grove, Ill./North) drew a walk to load the bases.  Two batters later, Barnes reached on a fielder's choice to drive in her second run of the day.  With runners on the corners, a double steal plated the second run of the inning as the Pointers got within one.
 
The Pipers used five hits and a walk to plate four runs in the third to take a 7-2 lead.
 
In the fourth, it was Cohen again sparking a rally with a leadoff double.  Two batters later, she scored, but UWSP was held to just one run in the frame.
 
Buerger walked to begin the fifth for the Pointers.  She moved around the bases on a passed ball, single by Johnson and a failed double steal attempt to make it 7-4.
 
Johnson doubled with two away in the seventh, but UWSP was not able to get another run across in the loss.
 
Barnes made her first career start for UWSP and struck out two in 3.0 IP.  Palicka struck out six in 4.0 hitless innings of relief.
 
The Pointers travel to Illinois for the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex D3 Invitational next weekend.  UWSP will play four games beginning with a 1:00 p.m. game against Buena Vista on Saturday (March 9).