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University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics

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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Kristen Haider
Wade Gardner-d3photography.com

Softball David Nelson

Long Ball Dooms Yellowjackets

Kristen Haider
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

With four games remaining and trailing UW-Platteville by two games in the WIAC standings, the Yellowjackets were in a do-or-die situation.  With UW-Platteville owning the tiebreaker by virtue of their sweep on April 5, the Yellowjackets knew they had to win the balance of their schedule.  It wouldn't be an easy task for the Yellowjackets with their biggest archrival standing in their way in UW-Whitewater.  The task was too much for the Yellowjackets as they fell to the Warhawks by scores of 8-6 and 8-0, crashing all playoff hopes.
 
UW-Whitewater 8, Yellowjackets 6
 
The Warhawks got things rolling in the second inning when Laura Eichenold, Jo Jablonski, and Chelsey Schobert came up with back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases.  Mimi Ramirez came through with a single to left field to give the Warhawks a 1-0 lead. 
 
Amy Ricci did damage for UW-Whitewater in the third inning when she doubled to left field.  Paige Evangelista followed with a two-run home run to make the score 3-0. 
 
The Yellowjackets would respond with two runs in the bottom half of the third inning when singles by Britnee Blake (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and Kristen Haider (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) followed by a Elle Niemela (Cokato, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) walk loaded the bases.  Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) prevailed with an RBI-single that scored Blake to narrow the margin to 3-1.  Megan Nelson (Carlton, Minn./Carlton) followed with a bases loaded walk to make the score 3-2. 
 
The Yellowjackets tied the game 3-3 in the fourth inning when Haley McNeil (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) hit a home run to center field, but that was the closest things got. 
 
The long ball doomed the Yellowjackets in the fifth inning when Kelly McGrail and Morgan Krisch led off with back-to-back home runs to make the score 5-3.  An Evangelista double set up Eichenold's two-run home run to widen the Warhawk lead to 7-3.
 
Haider answered with a home run for the Yellowjackets in the bottom of the fifth inning to narrow the margin to 7-4.
 
The Warhawks added their last run of the contest in the seventh inning when Ricci singled and advanced to second base on Evangelista's sacrifice bunt.  This paved the way for Eichenold's RBI-single to left field to widen their lead to 8-4. 
 
Haider's two-run home run in the bottom half of the seventh inning had the Warhawks bitting their nails as the Yellowjackets pulled within two runs at 8-6.  Unfortunately, it was all the Yellowjackets were able to come up with. 
 
Nicolle Gross (Coleraine, Minn./Greenway) took the loss on the rubber for the Yellowjackets.  She tossed 6 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs on 13 hits in the process. 
 
UW-Whitewater 8, Yellowjackets 0
 
The Warhawks were able to match their offensive production in game two of the WIAC doubleheader, but the Yellowjackets came up empty in an 8-0 shutout. 
 
Ramirez set the tone for the Warhawks with an infield single in the first inning before advancing to second base on McGrail's sacrifice bunt.  Krisch drove in Ramirez with an RBI-single to give the Warhawks a 1-0 lead. 
 
Alyssa Fernandez kept things going for the Warhawks when she singled to left field.  This paved the way for Sammie Seamon's two-run blast to center field to extend the Warhawk lead to 3-0. 
 
The long ball continued to doom the Yellowjackets throughout game two when Krisch led off the third inning with one of her own to make the score 4-0.  A Ricci single set up Jablonski's two-run blast later in the inning to make the score 6-0.
 
The fourth inning proved to be the same story when Ramirez singled up the middle which set up, well you guessed it, another two-run home run to make the score 8-0.  The honors belonged to Krisch, who tallied two long balls on the afternoon for the Warhawks.  It was this point where Yellowjacket head coach Roger Plachta yanked pitcher Sarah Hendrickson (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) in favor of Gross.
 
Hendrickson was tagged with the loss for the Yellowjackets.  She gave up eight runs on ten hits.
 
The Yellowjackets (20-15, 3-11 WIAC) will close out the season tomorrow at UW-Oshkosh.  Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.
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