Issued: May 3, 2003

SOFTBALL ENDS SEASON WITH LOSS TO LA CROSSE

PLATTEVILLE - The fourth-seeded UW-Eau Claire softball team lost yet another one run game, this time to end their season as they fell to second-seeded UW-La Crosse 4-3 in eight innings in second day action of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Championships here today at the UW-Platteville Softball Complex.

The Blugolds end the season with a record of 16-21 overall. Eau Claire defeated UW-Stout 1-0 yesterday in 13 innings but then fell to top-seeded UW-Platteville 4-3 to give them one loss in the double elimination tournament.

In Eau Claire's battle with UW-La Crosse, Kim Czapla (Sr.-Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove) took the mound for the Blugolds after pitching all 13 innings of Eau Claire's marathon game with Stout just one day ago. Czapla faced off with Eagle pitcher Karen Sennert.

It was the Blugolds who struck fist after one and a half innings of scoreless ball when Jes Schils (So.-Green Bay/Ashwaubenon) knocked an RBI single to center field and the Blugolds tacked on another run on an Eagle error to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead.

La Crosse responded in the top of the third as they scored two runs on a two out, two RBI single by center fielder Julie Schadrie. The game remained in a 2-2 deadlock until the sixth inning when the Eagles again scored, this time via a solo home run by Carley Anderson. With the Blugolds back to the wall, Gerilyn Berens (So.-Bloomington, MN/John F. Kennedy) pounded out an RBI double with two outs to even the score at three apiece. Neither team managed a run in the seventh and the game headed into extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Sally Wenzel hit a solo home run with two outs to give the Eagles a 4-3 advantage. The Blugolds went down in order in the bottom half of the inning to end the game and their season with a 4-3 loss to La Crosse.

The Blugolds finished with three runs on 11 hits and one error while La Crosse needed just five hits to score four runs while committing two errors. Kim Czapla took the loss as she pitched all eight innings, allowing four runs on five hits while walking two and striking out four. Sally Wenzel, who relieved Wennert in the fifth inning and also hit the game winning home run, earned the win as she pitched four innings and gave up just three hits and one run.

EC vs. La Crosse Box