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Melissa Clark
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Offense Comes Alive in Sweep of Pointers

Melissa Clark
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2


It's been a conference season of frustration and lack of offense for the Yellowjackets.  After being shutout in six WIAC contests to date, the recipe is clear and that is to connect the bat with the ball on a more frequent occasion.  Going into today's matchup with UW-Stevens Point, the Yellowjackets had six WIAC contests remaining and had to play with a do-or-die vengeance in order to have a chance to squeak into the sixth and final playoff spot.  The Yellowjacket bats seemed to found a rhythm today in Stevens Point as they swept the Pointers by scores of 5-2 and 5-4. 
 
Yellowjackets 5, UW-Stevens Point 2
 
Melissa Clark (Carlton, Minn./Carlton) stepped to the batter's box and sparked the Yellowjackets in the first inning with a lead-off home run to left field to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead.  The second inning saw the Yellowjackets tack on another run when Megan Nelson (Carlton, Minn./Carlton) walked and advanced to second base on Haley McNeil (Hill City, Minn./Hill City)'s infield single.  This set up a Whitney Brugman (Marquette, Mich./Marquette) RBI-single to left field to extend the Yellowjacket lead to 2-0. 
 
Kristen Haider (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) gave the Yellowjackets another run in the third inning when she hit a home run to left-center field to make the score 3-0.  However, the Pointers narrowed the margin to 3-2 in the fourth inning when Paige Meulemans singled to right field and advanced all the way to third on a wild pitch.  After Katie Thompson walked and stole second, Breanna Ellison reached first on a throwing error.  This scored Meulmans to make the score 3-1.  Thompson later scored on a wild pitch from third to narrow the score to 3-2. 
 
The Yellowjackets added another run in the fifth inning when McNeil reached on a fielder's choice and moved into scoring position on Brugman's sacrifice bunt.  Clark followed that with an RBI-double to extend the Yellowjacket lead to 4-2. 
 
The scoring was put to a close in the fifth inning when Haider doubled and advanced to second base on Elle Niemela (Cokato, Minn./Dassel-Cokato)'s sacrifice bunt.  Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) would prevail with an RBI-single to make the score 5-2.
 
Nicolle Gross (Coleraine, Minn./Greenway) pitched a complete game for the Yellowjackets.  She gave up two runs on five hits while striking out six batters.
 
 
Yellowjackets 5, UW-Stevens Point 4
 
The Yellowjackets were able to match their run total from game one, but this contest came down to the wire.  Brugman played the hero for the Yellowjackets with a game-winning RBI-single to give the Yellowjackets a 5-4 victory. 
 
Clark had no problem giving the Yellowjackets another early lift in the first inning when she led-off with a home run to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead. 
 
Things remained constant until a fourth inning that saw the Yellowjackets notch three runs.  Haider walked and advanced to second base on Niemela's single to put runners on first and second base. 
 
Linzmeier came through with ducks on the pond when her single up the middle scored Haider to make the score 2-0.  Megan Nelson (Carlton, Minn./Carlton) followed that with a walk to load the bases for Shelly Misco (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North), who hit a sacrifice fly, scoring pinch runner Allie Nelson (Augusta, Wis./Augusta) to extend the Yellowjacket lead to 3-0.  Linzmeier made the score 4-0 when she scored on a double steal that saw Megan Nelson (Carlton, Minn./Carlton) thrown out at second base. 
 
The Pointers came back in the fifth inning when Bekah Rennicke homered to left field to make the score 4-1 before tying things up in the sixth inning.  Sam Raddant and Maddie Sawdey led the charge when they led off with back-to-back singles.  Meulemans also singled, scoring Raddant to make the score 4-2. 
 
Thompson drove in Sawdey on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze to narrow the score to 4-3.  Meulemans tied the game 4-4 when she scored on Ellison's infield single.
 
The Yellowjackets prevailed in the seventh inning when Misco was hit by a pitch and advanced to second base on McNeil's sacrifice bunt.  Brugman lifted the Yellowjackets to victory with an RBI-single to right field that scored Misco to make the score 5-4.
 
Gross and Sarah Hendrickson (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) combined to give up four runs on six hits on the rubber for the Yellowjackets.
 
The Yellowjackets (20-13, 3-9 WIAC) will return to action tomorrow at UW-Whitewater.  First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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