2000 Pioneer Softball Review

Gleason, Ahlbrecht earn all-region honors

UW-Plattevilleıs Kim Gleason earned first team all-Great Lakes Region honors, while Pioneer teammate Becky Ahlbrecht was a third team selection.

Gleason, a junior first baseman from Geneseo, Ill., hit .430 on the season with a school-record 8 home runs. Her 52 hits were third most in school history and her 41 were the second most in Pioneer history. At first base, she cleanly fielded 289 balls out of 292 chances for a fielding percentage of .990.

Ahlbrecht, a junior shortstop from New Richmond, set new Pioneer standards with a .432 batting average and 63 hits. In addition, she broke the Pioneer record for career batting with a .383 mark, bettering the old record of .370, hit by Lynn Nagy from 1990-93. Ahlbrecht had two or more hits 15 times during the season, and twice had four-hit games.

Both Gleason and Ahlbrecht were first team all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selections after leading the Pioneers to third place, their best finish in seven years.

5 Pioneers are all-WIAC

UW-Platteville, which had its best softball season in seven years, had five players earn all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division honors.

Record-breakers Becky Ahlbrecht and Kim Gleason were named to the first team, while Emily Elliott, Jamie Larson and Jen Kilian earned second team honors. In addition, Ahlbrecht and UW-Stevens Pointıs Kelly Rutta were the co-players of the year.

The Pioneers were 22-19 overall and 3-3 in WIAC divisional play. Coach Janet Jamesıs squad won four games over the weekend to place third in the nine-team league tournament at UW-Oshkosh.

Ahlbrecht and Gleason led an assault on the Pioneer batting records. Ahlbrecht, a junior shortstop from New Richmond, hit .432, and Gleason, a junior from Geneseo, Ill., hit .430. Those are the two highest batting averages in UWP history. In addition, Ahlbrechtıs 63 hits also established a new record, as did Gleasonıs eight home runs. In conference play, Ahlbrecht hit a sizzling .591.

Elliott is a four-year starting second baseman from Richland Center who cleanly handled 555 chances during her career. She did not have an error in league play this year. Larson, from South Wayne, is the only other senior on the team. She had a 15-6 pitching record, the second most wins in school history. Kilian, a freshman outfielder from Platteville, hit .320 on the year with nine doubles and 16 runs batted in.

Pioneers take third in WIAC tourney

UW-Platteville completed its most successful softball season since 1993 when the Pioneers finished third in the WIAC tournament Saturday in UW-Oshkosh.

The Pioneers edged UW-River Falls 3-2 in nine innings, then beat WIAC West Division co-champion UW-Eau Claire 4-1 before falling in the semifinals to UW-Stevens Point 13-0.

UWP finished 22-19 overall and broke a host of school records along the way.

Kim Gleason added to her school record for home runs when she slugged her eighth in Saturday's opening game against River Falls that tied the scored at 1-1. After the Falcons took the lead at 2-1 in the fifth, the Pioneers answered with Jen Kilian's double and Michelle Salentine's RBI single. The game remained tied until the ninth, when Michelle Skaden singled, advanced to second on Emily Elliott's sac bunt and a single by Becky Ahlbrecht that got by the centerfielder for the dramatic win. Jamie Larson went the distance on the mound, scattering seven hits.

Larson was even stronger against UW-Eau Claire, as she racked up win #15, the second-best total in Pioneer history. She held the Blugolds to just one run over seven innings. Erin Esser and Beth Shaw had run-scoring singles in the first inning. The Pioneers added two insurance runs in the seventh inning. Jamie Karshbaum hit her 13th double of the season in the seventh--second-most in school records--and scored on Esser's double. Skaden singled home Esser for the 4-1 margin.

Those two wins put the Pioneers in the semifinals, where they ran out of gas and ran into hot UW-Stevens Point bats. The Pointers racked up 16 hits in five innings and put an end to the fine Pioneer season.

In the finals of the race for the school record for batting average, Ahlbrecht edged Gleason, .432 to .430. Ahlbrecht also broke the mark for hits in a season with 63.

The WIAC all-conference teams will be announced Monday.

Pioneers split in day one of tourney

OSHKOSH--The top of the sixth inning was the difference in both UW-Platteville softball games Friday at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament at UW-Oshkosh.

The Pioneers rallied to top UW-Stevens Point 2-0 in the first game, but dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to #1 seed UW-Whitewater.

The Pioneers, 20-18 overall, will face UW-River Falls Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in the consolation bracket.

Michelle Skaden singled home Jamie Karshbaum in the UWP sixth in the opener, and Erin Esser raced home on a throwing error on the same play. The two runs were all Jamie Larson needed, as she scattered four hits while recording her third shutout of the year.

The Pioneers' good pitching continued in the second game, as Rachel Winne threw a no-hitter for five innings against the 34-5 Warhawks. In the sixth, however, Brandi Mitchell beat out an infield hit to deep short. After a sacrifice and a walk, the Pioneers mishandled a force play at second base with two outs, and Mitchell raced home with the first run.

Jen Kilian began a two-out rally in the seventh when she doubled to left-center. Becky Ahlbrecht followed with a single to right, but Michelle Salentine's hit up the middle was gloved by Mitchell, who threw to first to end the game.

Pioneers, Pointers to meet in first round

UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point tied for the fourth seed in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and will meet in the first round of the league playoffs Friday at 1 p.m. at UW-Oshkosh's Spanbauer Field.

The two teams played three times, with them splitting the conference doubleheader in Point, and the Pointers taking an eight-inning 4-3 victory in the championship of the UW-Stout tournament April 9.

The Pioneers were 19-17 overall and runners-up in the WIAC East Division with a 3-3 record. The Pointers were a game behind in the league standings at 2-4 but had a better overall record of 23-11-1. They tied in the coaches' rankings.

Seedings were determined by the following method: 50 percent of the divisional records; 25 percent of the overall records and 25 percent of a coaches' vote.

UW-Whitewater, 34-5 overall and the East champion, is the top seed and will face the winner of the 8 vs. 9 playin game between UW-Oshkosh (19-17) and UW-Superior (4-28). The Pioneers will face one of those three teams in Friday's second round of the double elimination tournament. The UWP-UWSP loser will play the loser of the Whitewater game at 2:30 p.m. The Pioneer-Pointers' winner will play the winner of the Whitewater contest at 4 p.m. The tournament continues through Saturday.

Other first round matchups include #2 UW-Eau Claire (20-13) vs. #7 UW-Stout (17-26) and #3 UW-La Crosse (22-18) vs. #6 UW-River Falls (22-19).

The Pioneers will come to the tournament with their record-setting offense, currently hitting .322 as a team. Becky Ahlbrecht (.469) and Kim Gleason (.453) are well on pace to break the school batting record of .419, while Ahlbrecht has already broken the season hit record with 60, and Gleason has the home run record with seven. Jen Kilian (.33), Beth Shaw (.327) and Jamie Karschbaum (.317) are also hitting above .300, while senior second baseman Emily Elliott is one of the league's top fielders with more than 500 career putouts and assists. Fellow senior Jamie Larson is 12-6 pitching with 82 strikeouts, and freshman hurler Rachel Winne has six wins and a 2.11 ERA with 47 strikeouts.

Ahlbrecht earns WIAC honors

Becky Ahlbrecht was named Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference players of the week for her record-breaking performance.

Ahlbrecht led UW-Platteville to five wins in six games last week, including a doubleheader sweep of WIAC West Division champion UW-La Crosse and second place in the eight-team Warhawk Invitational. Ahlbrecht hit .636 in the six games, going 14x22 with two doubles, two stolen bases, three RBIs, one walk and one sacrifice. The junior from New Richmond, Wis. broke the school single-season record for hits with 60 and is on pace to demolish the season record for batting average (she is currently at .469, a full .050 ahead of the current record). She also is on pace to break the mark for runs (her 30 is seven shy of tying the record).

Ahlbrecht will lead the Pioneers into WIAC Championships Friday and Saturday at UW-Oshkosh. The softball pairings will be announced late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Pioneers take 2nd at UWW tournament

UW-Platteville's softball placed second at the eight-team Warhawk Invitational Tournament Friday and Saturday at UW-Whitewater.

The Pioneers advanced to the championship by beating UW-La Crosse for the third time this week. Jamie Larson pitched the Pioneers to a 5-1 victory.

The host Warhawks, now 31-5 and ranked first in the NCAA III Great Lakes Region Poll, stopped the Pioneers 9-4 in the title game, ending UWP's five-game winning streak. Becky Ahlbrecht, Kim Gleason and Jen Kilian each had two hits in the title game. Gleason became the Pioneers' single-season home run leader over the weekend and hit one out of the park in the championship contest. Kilian and Michelle Skaden also hit doubles against the Warhawks.

The Pioneers finished the regular season with a 19-17 overall record. The WIAC East Division runners-up will open conference tournament play Friday at UW-Oshkosh.

Pioneers win twice at UWW tournament

The UW-Platteville softball team continued its strong play this week, winning two games in the Warhawk Invitational Tournament Friday at UW-Whitewater.

The Pioneers beat Madison Edgewood 7-1 and St. Norbert 5-0, improving to 18-16 on the year.

UWP will face UW-La Crosse in the semifinals Saturday at 11 a.m. The Pioneers swept the WIAC West Division champions Wednesday, 7-3 and 6-1.

Saturday's championship and third-place games are set for 2 p.m.

Pioneers sweep WIAC West Champions

UW-Platteville swept WIAC West Division softball champion UW-La Crosse 7-3 and 6-1 Wednesday at the UWP Softball Complex.

The Pioneers, who were runners-up in the East Division, got back to the .500 mark at 16-16. The Eagles, who had won 16 of their previous 18 games, fell to 20-16.

Jen Kilian and Michelle Salentine each hit two-run doubles in the second inning of game one, staking the Pioneers to a 4-0 lead. After the Eagles cut the margin to 4-3, Michelle Skaden restored the large lead with a two-run home run in the fifth inning. Jamie Larson, who retired the first 10 batters she faced, improved to 10-6 on the year. She held the Eagles to five hits. Salentine, Skaden and Becky Ahlbrecht each had a pair of hits for UWP.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead in the second contest, highlighted by a two-run double by Jamie Karshbaum. In the third inning, Kim Gleason belted her sixth home run of the season, which ties a school record. She finished 3x4 in the game, while Ahlbrecht again had two hits. Rachel Winne scattered four hits for the win, her fifth of the year.

Both Larson and Winne were backed by outstanding defense, as the Pioneers did not commit an error all day.

The Pioneers return to action Friday and Saturday at the UW-Whitewater tournament.

#1 Warhawks edge Pioneers

UW-Whitewater's Cindy Hillbrich hit a flair over Pioneer shortstop Becky Ahlbrecht's head with two outs in the seventh inning to score pinch-runner CoCo Mitchell from second base, lifting the Warhawks to a 2-1 win Friday in Platteville.

The Warhawks, the top-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region, won game one 7-1. The Warhawks clinched at least a tie of the WIAC East Division with a 4-0 league mark. They are 23-4 overall. The Pioneers fell to 14-16, 3-3.

The Warhawks' Megan Koeller hit a three-run double in the fourth inning of game four for a 4-0 lead. UWP's Ahlbrecht doubles and scored on Kim Gleason's single in the bottom of the inning. But those were the only two hits the Pioneers had against Heather Wendt, who improved to 11-1. Jami Jaeggi hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning for insurance.

The Pioneers return to the UWP Softball Complex Wednesday for a doubleheader against UW-La Crosse, beginning at 3 p.m.

Bats go quiet in loss at Clarke

The UW-Platteville bats went silent Tuesday, as Clarke College swept a doubleheader from the Pioneers, 1-0 and 2-1, in Dubuque.

The Pioneers, who had been in double digits in hits in five of their previous seven games, were held to five hits in the first game and four in the second.

The Crusaders pushed across a run against Jamie Larson in the sixth inning during the opener, and scored on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning against Rachel Winne to take game two.

The Pioneers fell to 14-14 overall. The Crusaders registered wins #19 and 20.

Pioneers sweep Titans

Becky Ahlbrecht and Kim Gleason supplied the offense, the entire team displayed solid defense, and Jamie Larson added the pitching, as UW-Platteville swept a key Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball doubleheader at UW-Oshkosh 4-1 and 2-1.

The victories put the Pioneers in position to challenge for the WIAC East Division. UW-Whitewater leads the East Division at 2-0, while UW-Platteville is 3-1, UW-Stevens Point 1-1 and UW-Oshkosh 0-4. Stevens Point and Whitewater have to make up yesterday's postponed doubleheader, and then the Warhawks invade Platteville on April 21 at noon to decide the title.

The Pioneers improved to 14-12 overall, while the Titans fell to 12-13.

Ahlbrecht, who leads the WIAC in hits, tacked on seven more Wednesday. She was 7x8 in the doubleheader, with two runs in the opener. Gleason, second in the league in batting at .500, had a tie-breaking sacrifice fly in the third inning of game one, and a solo home run in the second game. Jamie Karshbaum had a two-run double in the first game.

Larson was solid in both games, allowing just 8 hits and two runs in 14 innings. The senior captain yielded just one walk and struck out 6.

The Pioneers also benefitted from outstanding defense. They made just one error in each game, and centerfielder Erin Esser nailed a Titan base-runner between first and second to end the second game.

UW-Platteville is off until playing at Clarke Tuesday and then the Good Friday showdown with UW-Whitewater.

Gleason earns WIAC honors

UW-Platteville first baseman Kim Gleason earned the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball player of the week honor.

Gleason, a junior from Geneseo, Ill. (J.D. Darnall High School), went 16-for-24 (.667) in eight games last week for UW-Platteville, leading the Pioneers to splits at UW-Stevens Point and Carroll and to a second-place finish at the eight-team UW-Stout Invitational. Gleason slugged two doubles and three home runs, piling up 12 RBIs. She hit two home runs in the opener at Stevens Point, including a three-run shot with two outs in the seventh inning for a 9-6 Pioneer win. Gleason hit safely in all eight games, getting at least two hits in six of the contests.

Pioneers take second

UW-Platteville took second place at the eight UW-Stout Fastpitch Invitational Saturday and Sunday, falling to UW-Stevens Point 4-3 in eight innnings in a disputed championship game.

Jen Kilian was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a sacrifice fly to end the contest on a play that the official scorer from UW-Stout wrote was "a controversial call."

Still, the Pioneers went 3-1 on the weekend. They beat UW-Stout 8-7, St. Norbert 14-2 and St. Scholastica 7-6 (in eight innings) to advance to the title game.

Kilian, a freshman outfielder from Platteville, and Jamie Larson, a senior pitcher from South Wayne (Black Hawk High School) were named to the all-tournament team.

Kilian had a double and home run against UW-Stout in the opener, and Larson earned two victories on the mound. She was also 3x3 hitting against the host Blue Devils.

Other Pioneers swinging hot bats included Kim Gleason, an astounding 9x11 (.818 average); Michelle Skaden 9x14 (.643) with two doubles and two home runs; Becky Ahlbrecht, 7x14 (.500) and Beth Shaw, who was 3x3 against St. Norbert with a home run.

The UW-Platteville JV team faces MATC at home Tuesday, then the varsity plays at UW-Oshkosh Wednesday.

The Jenny Walter Memorial Tournament, which was scheduled for Friday, was cancelled by the snow storm and will not be made up.

Pioneers split with Pioneers

UW-Platteville exploded for five runs in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie, and the UWP Pioneers defeated the host Carroll Pioneers 5-0 Wednesday.

Carroll College took the first game 3-2.

Rachel Winne (four innings) and Jamie Larson combined for the shutout, with Larson earning the win. She entered the game in the fifth as a pinch-hitter for Winne and started the rally with a single. Hits by Beth Shaw, Kim Gleason, Michelle Skaden (a double), Angie Peterson and Jen Kilian helped fuel the rally.

Winne and then Larson were batting after Coach Janet James was forced to shuffle the lineup after a second--inning collision between center fielder Michelle Salentine and second baseman Carrie Hefti knocked Salentine out of the contest. Hefti stayed in the game and collected two hits, as did Gleson and Erin Esser.

The UWP Pioneers were held to three hits in the opener, but missed a chance to tie in the seventh with bases loaded and nobody out. Carroll, however, worked out of the jam and preserved the win.

Gleason's third home run in two days was the offensive highlight for UWP, now 9-11 on the year. Carroll is now 5-11.

On Friday, UW-Platteville plays host the second annual Jenny Walter Memorial Tournament. The Pioneers play Mount Senario at 2 p.m., and Clarke faces Edgewood. The consolation and championship games are set for 3:45 p.m.

Pioneer rally stuns Pointers

Down to its last strike, the UW-Platteville softball team rallied with five runs in the top of the seventh to stun host UW-Stevens Point Tuesday in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener.

The Pointers, ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III pre-season national poll, beat the Pioneers 10-2 in the second game.

With her team trailing 6-4 in the seventh inning, Beth Shaw hit a two-run, bases-loaded single with two outs and two strikes to tie the game. Kim Gleason then crashed a three-run home run on the next pitch for a 9-6 UWP lead. Pitcher Jamie Larson gave up a double to lead off the bottom of the seventh, then retired the next three batters to preserve the win.

Gleason hit two home runs during the game, the first Pioneer to do so since 1996. She finished the day with five RBIs. Jen Kilian also smacked a solo home run in the fourth inning.

In the nightcap, Pointers took advantage of 12 hits and four Pioneer errors for the split.

The Pioneers stand 8-10 after the doubleheader, with a 1-1 WIAC mark. The Pointers are 10-5-1, 1-1 in the WIAC.

Pioneer bats explode in pair of wins

UW-Platteville pounded out 27 hits in winning their final two games at the Dubuque Classic Sunday, beating St. Scholastica 9-3 and UW-Superior 14-5.

The Pioneers will take a 7-9 record into Tuesday's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener, a doubleheader at UW-Stevens Point.

The Pioneers warmed up for WIAC play by recording 11 hits against St. Scholastica, including two each by Becky Ahlbrecht, Kim Gleason and Jen Kilian. All three of those players had a double, while Michelle Salentine ripped a triple.

The hitting barrage continued into the second game, as UWP recorded a season-high 16 hits. Erin Esser, Beth Shaw, Jamie Karshbaum and Ahlbrecht each had three hits, and Emily Elliott had two. Shaw, Karshbaum and Mandy Henning doubled, while Salentine again tripled, this time with the bases load.

Platteville pitchers Jamie Larson (game one) and Rachel Winne and Karen Schlimgen (game two) were the benefactors of all the offense. Larson raised her record to 3-2, and Schlimgen earned her first victory.

Winne whiffs school-record 13 in win

DUBUQUE, Iowa--Freshman Rachel Winne struck out a UW-Plattevile-record 13 batters in leading the Pioneers to a 6-4 softball win over Upper Iowa Saturday afternoon in the Dubuque Classic.

Her 13 whiffs surpassed the record of 11, set by Tina Davies almost four years ago to the day. Davies struck out 11 UW-La Crosse batters on April 2, 1996.

Michelle Skaden helped ensure Winne would earn the victory on her record-breaking day. She tagged a one-out triple that kicked up chalk along the left-field line to score Kim Gleason, who had singled. Jamie Karshbaum followed with a double, giving the Pioneers an insurance run.

Gleason hit a two-run triple in the Pioneer first, and Karshbaum added an inside-the-park home run to the left-center alley, staking UWP to a 3-0 lead. The Peackocks (7-13) tied the score with three runs in the third and took a 4-3 lead in the fourth. The Pioneers' Becky Ahlbrecht tripled to lead off the fifth and scored on a fielder's choice, knotting the score at 4-4.

The Pioneers improved to 5-9 overall, while Winne's pitching record increased to 3-4. She struck out at least three batters in a row three different times during the game and had at least one K in every inning.

Gleason had three hits to lead the offense, while Skaden, Karshbaum and Erin Esser each had two.

The Pioneers came close to making it a sweep Saturday, but lost the opener to Wartburg 12-6. UWP committed six errors, including five on ground balls, giving the Knights six unearned runs. Ahlbrecht, Skaden and Beth Shaw all had two hits for the Pioneers, who led 6-5 after four innings.

Duhawks edge Pioneers twice

UW-Platteville had Loras College on the ropes in both games Thursday, but could not deliver the clutch hits, allowing the visiting Duhawks to escape with a softball sweep, 2-1 and 3-1.

In the opener, the Pioneers rallied with a run in the bottom of the seventh on Emily Elliott's RBI single to score Jamie Karschbaum and advance Jamie Larson to second. Erin Esser followed with a single to load the bases, but Duhawk right fielder Katie Rasmussen ran down Becky Ahlbrecht's long fly ball to end the game.

Loras's Laura Simensen, who went the distance in game one, came on in relief in the second game and worked out of tough jams in both the sixth and seventh innings, as the Pioneers stranded nine runners.

Larson suffered her first loss of the year in the opener, despite giving up just three hits. Karshbaum and Beth Shaw each had a pair of hits to lead the offense. Freshman hurler Rachel Winne yielded only five hits in the nightcap, but fell to 2-4. Kim Gleason and Jenny Kilian each were 2 for 3 hitting.

Loras improved to 10-8 with the sweep. The Pioneers, who fell to 4-8, return to action with four games in the Dubuque Classic this weekend. They open play Saturday at 9 a.m. vs. Wartburg, to be played at Clarke College's field. Loras improved to 10-8 with the sweep.

Pioneers close trip with 2 wins

The UW-Platteville ended its spring trip in impressive fashion, blanking Cortland State 7-0 and beating Richard Stockton 4-2 Thursday.

The Pioneers finished the Rebel Games with a 4-6 record with three wins coming against NCAA III playoff teams from a year ago.

Pitcher Jamie Larson shut out Cortland on four hits, and her defense played flawlessly behind her. The Pioneers banged out nine hits, including three by Erin Esser and a home run by junior transfer Kim Gleason. Michelle Skaden continued her hot spring with a double. Esser also doubled.

Rachel Winne earned the victory in the nightcap, holding Richard Stockton to three hits. The Pioneers scored twice in the top of the seventh for the trip-ending victory.

Gleason, Beth Shaw and Michelle Salentine each had a pair of hits, with Gleason and Jenny Kilian recording doubles.

UWP falls to ranked teams

A day after beating Rowan, the seventh-ranked team in NCAA III, the UW-Platteville softball team was back against more of the nation's best teams Wednesday.

The Pioneers lost 11-3 to Bridgewater, Mass., ranked third in the pre-season polls, and 8-0 to Cazanovia.

The Pioneers banged out eight hits against Bridgewater but left several runners stranded. Erin Esser, Beth Shaw and Michelle Salentine each had two hits, while Jenny Kilian hit a double.

Cazenovia held UWP to two hits, with one being a triple by Emily Elliott.

The Pioneers are now 2-6 on their trip. They conclude their Rebel Games today with contests against Cortland State and Richard Stockton.

Pioneers stun World Series team

UW-Platteville's softball team beat Rowan, an NCAA III World Series team last year, 6-4 during the Rebel Games in Orlando, Fla Tuesday.

The Profs were 37-10 a year ago and won the Atlantic Regional. The Pioneers, however, rode the pitching of senior Jamie Larson, who made her first start of the spring after an arm injury forced her to miss the first four games. Larson scattered six hits and walked just one batter.

Michelle Skaden ripped her second home run of the season. She also doubled to lead the UWP hitters. Becky Ahlbrecht and Beth Shaw had two hits apiece, while Erin Esser smacked a double.

The Pioneers lost Tuesday's first game to William Paterson, 4-2. Albrecht's two hits led UW-Platteville. William Paterson also made the NCAA III playoffs last year.

The Pioneers are now 2-4 on the season. They have two games Wednesday (against 1999 NCAA III playoff team Bridgewater State and Cazenovia) and two more Thursday (vs. Cortland State, another 1999 national playoff team, and Richard Stockton). The team returns to Platteville Friday night.

Pioneers off to 1-3 start

The UW-Platteville softball team got off to a 1-3 start over the weekend in the Rebel Games in Orlando, Fla.

Freshman pitcher Rachel Winne won in her collegiate debut Saturday, as the Pioneers beat Anderson, Ind. 4-2. She held the Indiana team, coming off a 35-10 season, to four hits. Her freshman batterymate, catcher Michelle Skaden, was 3 for 3, while Becky Ahlbrecht was 3 for 4. Erin Esser also had a pair of hits.

Albrecht and Emily Elliott each had two hits in the season opener Saturday, a 12-2 loss to Westminster, Pa.

The Pioneers dropped a pair of close games Sunday, 7-4 to Defiance (Ohio) and 4-3 to Illinois Wesleyan.

UWP has Monday off, then plays a pair of powerhouses Tuesday. The Pioneers face William Paterson at 9 a.m. and Rowan at 2:30 p.m.