Pioneers Split Second Day in Florida

CLERMONT, Fla. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville softball team split a pair of games on Monday at the Spring Games in Clermont. The Pioneers (8-2) shut out Kalamazoo (5-4) 4-0 Monday morning before fall 4-1 to Colby (5-3) in the afternoon.

Junior Carlie Jo Brownlee (4-0) had another great game in the circle for the Pioneers in the game against Kalamazoo, striking out 10, walking two and allowing two hits in five innings pitched. Freshman Morgan Erickson (sv, 2) picked up the save and struck out two and allowed no hits in the final two innings.

The Pioneers got on the board early with two runs in the first inning, all with two outs. The Pioneers added another run in the third off a wild pitch and then registered one more in the top of the seventh off junior Melissa Dietz's double up the middle. Dietz was a perfect 4-for-4 in the opener, including a pair of doubles.

UW-Platteville outhit Kalamazoo 10-2 and committed no errors while the Hornets committed just one.

In the second game of the day, Colby got on the board early in the top of the first, but the Pioneers got out of a jam with bases loaded and escaped the inning with just a 1-0 deficit. Senior Taylor Roughen scored a tying run in the bottom of the third off a sac bunt, but the Mules took back their one-run lead in the top of the fourth. Colby added two more insurance runs in the seventh to secure the win.

Roughen (2-1) suffered her first loss of the season in the circle, striking out five, walking two and allowing seven hits and four runs (three earned) in 6.1 innings pitched.

The Pioneers return to action on Tuesday in Clermont when they face Lewis and Clark at 9:15 a.m. and Kalamazoo again at 11:30 a.m.