PEORIA, Ill. – The UW-Stevens Point softball team (7-1) plated nine runs in each game of a split at the Mount Mary Collegiate Sluggers Series on Friday. UWSP run-ruled Knox (1-3) before falling to Augustana (5-2) by a 12-9 final.
 
Sara Traxel (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) led the UWSP offense with five hits on the day. She drove in three and scored four runs.
 
Maddie Candre (St. Charles, Ill./East), Becca Geiyer (Grayslake, Ill./Warren Township), Jesse Klicker (Spring Grove, Ill/Richmond-Burton Community) and Jenna Eilers (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) all hit safely in both games collecting three hits each on the day. Candre and Klicker had an RBI in each game.
 
Lillie Lindgren (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) had two RBI and a run scored in game one against Knox. Meg Lawrence (Antioch, Ill./Antioch Community) had a hit and an RBI in each game. She scored twice against Knox.
 
UWSP 9, Knox 0 (5)
Candre, Geiyer, Klicker and Traxel hit consecutive doubles to begin the game and a fast 3-0 lead. Lawrence drew a walk and Eilers pushed both into scoring position with a sac bunt. Lindgren ripped a single up the middle to plate both runners. Then with two away, Candre batted again with an RBI single to make it 6-0.
 
In the fourth, Traxel and Lawrence hit back-to-back two-out doubles for a 7-0 lead. Eilers walked and stole second. Two runners came in on a Prairie Fire error for the 9-0 score.
 
Mackenzie Honish scattered two hits with two strikeouts in the shutout win.
 
UWSP 9, Augustana 12
UWSP took a first inning lead again in game two. Candre led off with a four-pitch walk and was sacrificed to second. Klicker singled and moved all the way to third on an errant throw home as UWSP went ahead, 1-0. Traxel followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0.
 
Another leadoff walk by Candre in the third scored a rally again. Geiyer dropped a beautiful bunt and reached without a play. Klicker drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Traxel drove in run on a pop up to right, but a misplay allowed two runners to scored and two to end up in scoring position. Consecutive groundouts plated runs and UWSP was up, 6-0.
 
The Vikings closed within one with a five-run frame in the bottom of the third. Four hits and a pair of UWSP miscues in the inning made it 6-5.
 
In the fifth, Traxel hit a one-out single. Two batters later, Van Beek launched a two-run shot to left, landing on the other field on the fly.
 
Augustana answered right back in the bottom of the stanza with three runs on three hits, the last being a big fly to tie the game.
 
Tenley Gassner (Lomira, Wis./Lomira) drew a leadoff walk in the sixth. Emmie Cibrario (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) re-entered and moved to second on an Eilers sac bunt. Candre followed with an RBI double to put UWSP back ahead, 9-8.
 
The Vikings again responded with four runs on three hits to take a 12-9 lead to the seventh.
 
Lawrence started the seventh with a solid single. Van Beek Replaced her on a fielder's choice. Then with two down, Cibrario drew a walk and Eilers singled up the middle to load the bases. Candre ripped a shot to second that was knocked down to end the UWSP threat and the game.
 
Van Beek started in the circle and Makenna Tkach (Streator, Ill./Marquette Academy) came on in relief. Each struck out two in the game.
 
The Pointers will next be in action in Clermont, Florida on March 18 for the 10-game Spring Break trip. UWSP faces Benedictine at 9:15 a.m. ET to start games in the Sunshine State.