Softball falls to top seed UW-Stout in WIAC Tourney opener

MENOMONIE, Wis. – The sixth-seeded Pioneers dropped a tough 1-0 decision to top-seed UW-Stout in the opening game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship on Friday morning. 

Freshman Jess Butzen pitched a gem for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, as she scattered four hits without giving up an earned run or a walk, while striking out three. 

Butzen's great performance was overshadowed by, Stout's Tori Workman, who threw a two-hit complete-game shutout. 

The Pioneers were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base, compared to UW-Stout's four. 

UW-Platteville's had prime scoring chances in the second and third innings. Junior Haley Salazar blasted a one-out double, but never advanced in the second frame. The Pioneers then left two on in the third with the help of two Stout errors. 

A Pioneer miscue helped the Blue Devils score the only run of the game in the bottom of the third. A one-out error, and then a clutch two-out RBI hit by Stout's Sam Hastings gave the Blue Devils the lead. 

After getting out of the jams in the second and third, Workman was lights out and only allowed two runners on in the final four innings on two hit by pitches. 

The Pioneers will play the loser of the UW-Whitewater and UW-La Crosse match-up at 4 p.m. on Friday.