UW-Platteville gave top-seeded UW-Eau Claire all it could handle before the Blugolds pulled out a 2-1 victory in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball semifinals Saturday in Menomonie.
In a battle of the last two remaining undefeated teams in tournament play, the Blugolds Casey Leisgang scored twice, and Mallory McKinney threw a three-hitter for the win. Leisgang homered in the first inning and scored on an error in the fifth.
The resilient Pioneers, who beat third-seeded UW-Whitewater and second-seeded UW-Oshkosh Friday, fought back. Patty Meoska hit a home run to left field in the top of the seventh, cutting the lead in half. McKinney, however, retired the next two batters on a ground out and strikeout to end the game.
UWP, seeded sixth, played UW-Oshkosh again, but the Titans won 6-1 in the semifinals of the double-elimination tournament. UW-Eau Claire then beat UWO 3-0 in the title game.
Lindsay Weigand and Tera Burr each had two hits for the Pioneers, but the Titans' Whitney Tyriver went 4-4 with two home runs and five RBIs.
The Pioneers, predicted for ninth place in the league, finish third place in the tournament and 14-24 overall. Senior pitcher Katie Larson had nine strikeouts Saturday and 26 for her career, moving into second place all-time on the Pioneer career list with 295.
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Surprising UW-Platteville, seeded sixth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball tournament, knocked off third-seeded UW-Whitewater 9-6 and second-seeded UW-Oshkosh 3-2 Friday at UW-Stout.
Red-hot Ashley Strnad ripped the game-winning double to score Kiersten Henn from second in the bottom of the seventh to beat UW-Oshkosh. Becky Swanson singled to start the frame, but was eliminated on Henn's ground ball. Tera Burr singled Henn to second, and then Strnad ripped the clutch two-out game-winner.
The Pioneers rallied from a 2-0 deficit, scoring twice in the bottom of the sixth. Strnad had an RBI double, and Katie Jo Crubaugh's single scored Strnad to knot the score.
Katie Larson, who struck out 16 batters in the two games Friday, worked out of a two-on jam in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for Strnad's heroics.
Against UW-Whitewater, Swanson drilled a three-run home run in the second inning, giving the Pioneers a 3-0 lead. After the Warhawks scored two in the third, the Pioneers scored six straight runs. Nikki Hansen and Maggie Digman hit RBI singles in the fifth, Burr had a two-run single in the fifth, and Strnad homered in the seventh inning. The Warhawks scored four in the bottom of the seventh to make things close but Larson escaped the jam.
Henn, Swanson and Strnad each had two hits for UWP, who beat UW-Whitewater for the third time this season.
The Pioneers were predicted for ninth-place in the WIAC preseason poll, but first-year Coach Heather Townsend's team tied for fifth in the league standings.
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