WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The UW-Stevens Point softball team (6-4) fell to a pair of ranked opponents on Monday to begin the team's week at the Spring Games. The Pointers fell to No. 15 Tufts (5-0) by a 7-0 final before a late rally by No. 20 Millikin (6-6) saw UWSP drop a 4-1 final.
 
Jesse Klicker (Spring Grove, Ill/Richmond-Burton Community) hit her second home run of the season to put UWSP's lone run of the day on the board. Sophia Heckendorf (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) had a hit in each game.
 
Game 1 – UWSP 0, Tufts 7
The Jumbos put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first on four hits, a walk and an error.
 
Heckendorf got a two-out hit in the third for UWSP's first base runner. She was stranded there to end the inning.
 
Tufts added three runs in the bottom of the third on three hits and a sacrifice fly.
 
Rachel Baker (Richmond, Ill./Richmond-Burton Community) had a one-out single in the fifth, but UWSP couldn't turn it into a run.
 
Makenna Tkach (Streator, Ill./Marquette Academy) and Addison Wythe (Stillman Valley, Ill./Stillman Valley) had a strikeout each in relief.
 
Game 2 – UWSP 1, Millikin 4
Millikin struck first with a run in the top of the first on a walk, wild pitch and a single to put behind, 1-0.
 
Klicker homered with one away in the bottom of the second, a solo shot to left-center, to tie the game a 1-1.
 
Tkach entered the circle in relief in the fourth. She worked out of jams in the fifth and the sixth to keep the game tied.
 
In the seventh, two walks and an error loaded the bases for Millikin. With two outs, a double through the drawn-in infield plated all three runners to give the Big Blue a 4-1 lead.
 
The Pointers were retired in order in the seventh to end the game. Abby Van Beek (Mayville, Wis./Mayville) had three strikeouts in the start. She went 3.0 frames with just one run allowed.
 
The Pointers return to the diamond on Tuesday (March 21) for a 2:00 p.m. ET game against Elmhurst before playing Kalamazoo at 4:30 p.m. ET.