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Haley McNeil
Wade Gardner-d3photography.com

Softball David Nelson

Yellowjackets, Falcons Split a Pair of Slugfests

Haley McNeil had four hits and four RBI in Saturday's first game vs. River Falls.
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Prior to competition today, the Yellowjackets were still searching for their first run in conference play.  After coming up empty against UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse, the Yellowjackets needed answers for their offensive struggles and found some in game one against UW-River Falls.  Prevailing with runners on base helped the Yellowjackets torch the Falcons for 12 runs.  Unfortunately, the Falcons were able to do more as they squeaked by the Yellowjackets 13-12 in game one.  The Yellowjackets were able to rebound with a 6-5 victory in game two of the doubleheader. 
 
UW-River Falls 13, Yellowjackets 12
 
The Yellowjackets struck in the first inning when Kristen Haider (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) and Elle Niemela (Cokato, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) came up with back-to-back singles.  This set up a Haley McNeil (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) RBI single that brought Haider home to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead. 
 
The second inning saw the Yellowjackets tack on a pair of runs.  A Britnee Blake (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) single to right center field set up Haider's RBI triple to right field to extend the Yellowjacket lead to 2-0.  Haider later came around to score on Whitney Brugman (Marquette, Mich./Marquette)'s bloop single to make the score 3-0. 
 
The Falcons took a 4-3 lead in the bottom half of the second when Sarah Sorensen led off with a triple and scored on Abby Veloske's single to cut the Yellowjacket lead to 3-1.  Lauren Janssen followed that with a bunt single to put runners on first and second before Ali Murray singled to load the bases.  Amber O'Connell prevailed with a two-run single to tie the game at three runs apiece.  Sarah Bohlen put the scoring to bed for the inning with an RBI single that scored Murray to give the Falcons a 4-3 lead. 
 
The fifth inning saw the Falcons tack another run on the scoreboard when Abbie Morris went to second base on an infield fly ball the Yellowjacket infield couldn't handle.  Morris eventually scored on a Michelle LaCasse double to extend their lead to 5-3.
 
The Yellowjackets tied the game in the fourth inning when Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) and Blake each came up with singles and advanced to second and third base on Haider's sac bunt.  After Brugman reached on a fielder's choice, McNeil smacked a two-run double to right field to knot the game at five runs apiece. 
 
The lead was taken by the Yellowjackets in the fifth inning when Katie Wilke (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) walked and advanced to third base on a Nicolle Gross (Coleraine, Minn./Greenway) single.  Wilke scored on a Linzmeier sac fly to make the score 6-5.  Blake followed that with an RBI single, scoring Gross to extend the Yellowjacket lead to 7-5. 
 
The sixth inning saw the Yellowjackets score three runs, but it was the Falcons that blasted two three-run home runs en route to an eight run inning.  It was O'Connell and Morris with the round trippers that gave the Falcons a 13-11 lead going into the game's final inning. 
 
With the score 13-11, the Yellowjackets were only able to muster one run in the game's final inning.  Haider singled up the middle and advanced to second on an error to set the tone for the Yellowjackets.  McNeil drove her home with an RBI single to make the score 13-12. 
 
Gross pitched the first five innings for the Yellowjackets.  She allowed nine runs on 15 hits before giving way to Sarah Hendrickson (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld), who took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits in the process.

Yellowjackets 6, UW-River Falls 5
 
The second game of the doubleheader saw each team struggle putting runs on the board until the final innings of the contest. 
 
The Yellowjackets set the tone in the second inning when Linzmeier singled and Anna Morgan (South Range, Wis./Northwestern) walked to put runners on first and second base.  Gross prevailed with ducks on the pond with an RBI single, scoring Linzmeier to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead.
 
The Falcons tied the game 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning when Veloske crushed a solo home run.  The score remained tied until the sixth inning. 
 
The Yellowjackets added four runs in the sixth inning when Linzmeier and Taylor Johnson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) came up with back-to-back singles and advanced to second and third base on a wild pitch.  Linzmeier scored when she beat the throw at home when Sasha Fjeran (Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors) reached on a fielder's choice to give the Yellowjackets a 2-1 lead. 
 
Brugman later walked to load the bases for Blake, who hit a two-run single to extend the Yellowjacket lead to 4-1.  Haider followed that with an RBI single of her own to push the Yellowjacket lead to 5-1. 
 
Linzmeier paced the Yellowjackets in the seventh inning when she led off with a single and came around to score when Wilke singled and was thrown out at second base to make the score 6-1.  The Falcons made things interesting for the balance of the game. 
 
A Murray walk and an O'Connell single in the seventh inning put runners on base for Bohlen, who hit an RBI single to narrow the Yellowjacket lead to 6-2.  This was followed by a Morris three-run blast to make the score 6-5, but that's all the runs the Falcons were able to come up with.
 
Gross pitched a complete game for the Yellowjackets.  She allowed five runs on eight hits while striking out four batters.
 
The Yellowjackets (18-9, 1-5 WIAC) will return to action tomorrow, Sunday, April 13 when they travel to UW-Stout.  The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
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