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University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics

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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Britnee Blake
Wade Gardner-d3photography.com

Softball David Nelson

Blue Devils Sweep Yellowjackets

Britnee Blake bunts for a base hit Sunday at Stout.
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

A day after the Yellowjackets arguably had their best offensive numbers in WIAC play against UW-River Falls, they knew they were going to have to match that, if not do more against UW-Stout.  The Blue Devils, who owned a 5-1 record in WIAC play prior to today's games, were playing their best softball of the season and today would have been the most convenient time to knock them off their tracks.  The Yellowjackets were able to come from behind in the final inning of game one, but a walk-off game-winning infield single by UW-Stout sealed their fate, falling 5-4 in game one.  The lack of runs carried over into game two when the Blue Devils shutout the Yellowjackets 6-0.
 
UW-Stout 5, Yellowjackets 4
 
No time was wasted on behalf of the Blue Devils when Kaitlin Stark hit a sharp single to right field and moved to second base on Lynzi Knudtson's sacrifice bunt in the first inning.  Stark came around to score when Taylor Workman blooped a single barely over the Yellowjacket infield to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead. 
 
Small ball continued to be the name of the Blue Devils' game in the sixth inning when Knudtson hit an infield single and advanced to second base on a Sam Hastings sacrifice bunt.  Workman followed with another infield single before Yellowjacket head coach Roger Plachta signaled the intentional walk for Hannah Sweet to load the bases.  However, this didn't go as planned for the Yellowjackets when Tori Workman came up with a two-run double to extend the Blue Devil lead to 3-0.
 
The Yellowjackets came through in the seventh inning to take a one run lead.  Taylor Johnson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) was hit by a pitch and Anna Morgan (South Range, Wis./Northwestern) singled to put runners on first and second base.  Johnson scored when Nicolle Gross (Coleraine, Minn./Greenway) reached on an error to make the score 3-1.  With Gross and Morgan occupying second and third base, Melissa Clark (Carlton, Minn./Carlton) blasted a two-run triple to left field to tie the game 3-3.  Clark gave the Yellowjackets a 4-3 lead when she scored on a wild pitch.
 
With the Blue Devils knowing they needed one run to put the game to bed, small ball would continue to be the strategy in the bottom half of the seventh inning.  Liz Seipel led off with a single before advancing to second on a wild pitch, then to third on an error.   With runners on the corners, Knudtson laid down a bunt single that scored Seipel to tie the game 4-4.  Taylor Workman followed that by reaching on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners for Sweet, who drove in Hastings on an infield single to give the Blue Devils a 5-4 victory.  
 
Gross pitched a complete game for the Yellowjackets.  She surrendered five runs (three earned) on nine hits while striking out four batters.
 
UW-Stout 6, Yellowjackets 0
 
After rebounding from a three run deficit in the final inning of game one, the Yellowjackets had to play catch up from the first inning on in game two.  Unfortunately, the Yellowjackets couldn't muster a run in a 6-0 shutout in favor of the Blue Devils.
 
Stark and Knudtson came up with back-to-back singles and advanced to second and third base on a Hastings sacrifice bunt in the first inning.  Taylor Workman followed that with a bloop RBI single, scoring Stark to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.  Sweet later came to bat and laid down another sacrifice bunt that scored Knudtson to extend the Blue Devil lead to 2-0.  The scoring was put to bed for the inning when Tori Workman hit an RBI single up the middle that brought home Taylor Workman to make the score 3-0. 
 
The Blue Devils extended their lead in the third inning when Knudtson tripled to the center field fence and came around to score on Taylor Workman's infield single to make the score 4-0.
 
The Blue Devils closed out the game's scoring in the sixth inning when Tori Workman and Nicole Rogers walked to put runners on first and second.  They both touched home plate when Seipel laid down a bunt single that was mishandled by the Yellowjacket infield, then was thrown away to extend the Blue Devil lead to 6-0.
 
Gross took the pitching loss for the Yellowjackets.  She gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits in the process.
 
The Yellowjackets (18-11, 1-7 WIAC) will return to action on Thursday, April 17 when they play their first home game of the season against UW-Stevens Point at a field to be determined.  First pitch is at 3:00 p.m.
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