STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point softball (12-12, 0-2) opened league play with a pair of losses to UW-Whitewater (9-5, 2-0) at McCarty Memorial Field on Thursday.  The Pointers fell by a 12-2 score in game one and 8-3 in game two.
 
Lauren Luedtke (Lomira, Wis./Lomira) had two hits in each game, including a double in each game.  She drove in three runs on the day.
 
Freshman Maddie Candre (St. Charles, Ill./East) hit safely in both games with three hits overall.  She scored a run in each game and had an RBI in game two.
 
Fellow freshman Sammy Buerger (Oshkosh, Wis./North) had three hits in game two and scored twice. 
 
Game 1 – UWSP 2, UWW 12 (6)
Morgan Johnson (Combined Locks, Wis./Kaukauna) led off with a single and moved to second on an error.  She advanced to third on a wild pitch.  Madi Greenaberg (Downers Grove, Ill./North) drew a two-out walk and stole second.  Luedtke followed with an RBI single to give the Pointers a 1-0 lead.
 
That lead was short-lived as the Warhawks scored seven runs in the second on five hits and a pair of UWSP errors. 
 
Candre singled with one out in the third.  Two batters later, Luedtke doubled to plate Candre.
 
UWW got the run back in the fifth and scored four times in the sixth to close out the run-rule victory.
 
Game 2 – UWSP 3, UWW 8
The Warhawks scored twice on four hits in the top of the first.
 
Buerger recorded her first hit of the game with a one-out single.  She scored from first on a double by Candre.  Greenaberg followed with a double to tie the game at 2-2.
 
UWW broke the tie in the third with six runs on five hits for an 8-2 lead.
 
Buerger led off the fifth with another single.  She moved to third on  a double by Candre.  Two batters later, Luedtke blooped a single to center to score Buerger, but UWSP could not push across any more runs in the frame or the game.
 
The Pointers face UW-Eau Claire in league action on Saturday (April 6) at home. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at McCarty Memorial Field.