Millikin sweeps Softball

DECATUR, Ill. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville softball team was swept by Millikin, falling 7-3 in game one then 11-6 in the nightcap, on Sunday at Borg Warner Field in Decatur, Ill.

The Pioneers got out to a quick start in game one, scoring three runs in the first inning. Junior Haley Salazar got the Pioneers on the board with a two-RBI single, and senior Ellyn Goerdt drove in the other run.

A Pioneer miscue allowed Millikin to get on the board in the third inning, and then the Big Blue used a pair of base hits in the fourth to make it a one run game, 3-2.

Sophomore Keri Treml came in relief in the fifth for the Pioneers, and gave up a home run to the first batter she faced, and then a two-out two-run homer, 5-3.

The Big Blue added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, 7-3.

Sophomore Carley Rote recorded two of the Pioneers six hits.

Millikin took its momentum from game-one into the nightcap, and scored a run in the first and second inning, 2-0.

The Pioneers got their bats going in the bottom of the third, and tallied six of their 10 hits, scoring five runs with two-outs. Goerdt delivered a two-RBI single, then Rote blasted a two-run bomb giving UW-Plattville a 4-2 lead. Junior Lisa Karau doubled to score Salazar for the Pioneers final run of the inning, 5-2.

Millikin answered with two runs in the top of the fourth, making it a one-run game, 5-4. A grand slam by the Big Blue in the fifth gave Millikin a 8-5 advantage, and used five hits in the sixth to score three more runs.

Karau scored the Pioneers final run of the game with a solo homer in the bottom of the six, 11-6.

Senior Becca Lowe, Goerdt and Karau each tallied two hits.

Freshman Jess Butzen suffered the loss and gave up 10 hits and eight runs in five innings.

The Pioneers will look to rebound quickly, as they take on Clarke University on Monday for UW-Platteville's home opener. Monday's doubleheader will begin at 3 p.m. in Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.