PELLA, Iowa – Friday the Yellowjacket softball team took on Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (MIAC) Royals of Bethel University. The Royals, like the Yellowjackets, also fell in their NCAA Division III Regional opener, suffering a 2-0 loss to UW-Whitewater, meaning whoever lost this game was sent home.
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Both teams were able to strike in the first inning, but a pair of three-run innings for Bethel saw them take an 8-2 lead. Two more came across in the top of the seventh before the 'Jackets battled in their last ups but were ultimately downed by a score of 10-3.
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Game Notes
- The Royals found an early two runs off Yellowjacket starter Bella Garley (Albuquerque, N.M./Porter (Tex.)), taking advantage of defensive miscues.
- UWS instantly responded, however, as Carly Stuckmayer (Delano, Minn./Delano Senior) utilized her speed and reached on a bunt single. Larissa Snyder (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) moved her over with a sacrifice bunt before Zoe Thomson (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) unloaded for a two-run homer to left field, her fifth blast of the season to knot things at 2-2.
- Garley got into some trouble in the top of the third inning, prompting Samantha Swartz (Antigo, Wis./Antigo) to take over in the circle. Bethel was able to scratch three runs to take a 5-2 lead.
- The Royals found two more in the top half of the fifth, as a pair of Yellowjacket errors led to a two RBI double and an RBI single.
- After plating another run in the top of the seventh, the Yellowjackets called upon Georgia Youngblood (Ray, Mich./Lutheran North), as she handled the pitching for the remainder of the contest.
- In the bottom half of the inning, UW-Superior began to muster a two-out comeback. A pair of singles saw Norah Schmitz (Carver County, Minn./Waconia) come around to score after reaching on an infielder's choice earlier in the inning, but the Royals escaped the bases-loaded jam with a 4-3 putout, ending the Yellowjackets' season.
- Stuckmayer and Thomson each went 2-4 on the day with a run scored. Thomson scored two of the three runs for UWS.
- Snyder was tabbed to the All-Tournament squad for her efforts on the weekend.
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The Yellowjackets close the 2024 season with an overall record of 26-15.
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