UW-Platteville racked up a school-record 24 hits in defeating the University of Dubuque 22-4 in a five-inning softball game Thursday afternoon at the Spartans' Chlapaty Field.
The hosts came back to win the second game, a wild 14-13 affair, and split the doubleheader.
The Pioneers' 24 hits broke an eight-year-old record of 20, set against Mount St. Claire (now Franciscan University).
Every UWP player had at least two hits, including four by Maggie Digman. The Pioneer senior went 4-5 with two home runs and eight RBIs, one shy of the school record. Her three-run home run started the scoring and a 10-run Pioneer first inning.
Tera Burr had three hits, including a record-tying two triples. Lindsay Weigand, Becky Swanson, and Patty Meoska also had three hits, while Nikki Hansen, Dru Schneider and Kiersten Henn each had two. Maggie Medlicott struck out seven Spartans while improving to 4-4 on the season. The 22 runs were one shy of the Pioneer record.
The hit parade continued in the second game, but this time the Spartans joined in. The teams combined for 32 hits and 27 runs. The Pioneers had 15 hits, including four by Hansen, while Swanson and Mandy Cerqua each had three. Hansen homered to center field in the second inning, helping the Pioneers to a 6-0 lead.
An eight-run fifth inning gave the Spartans a 13-12 lead. After UD scored one in the bottom of the sixth, the Pioneers closed the gap to 14-13 when Swanson tripled and scored after Cerqua reached on an error. The Spartans, however, kept Cerqua from scoring with two flyouts and a strikeout to end the game.
UWP is now 6-10 on the year, and the Spartans are 9-9.
The Pioneers begin conference play Monday at UW-Oshkosh at 3 p.m.