Softball

April 30, 2001

MENOMONIE - The final scheduled home UW-Stout softball game with St. Olaf has been cancelled. The Blue Devils were to host the Oles, Tuesday, May 1, but St. Olaf had a backlog of conference games that they were required to play and had to trim Stout from their schedule.

Stout will resume action at the WIAC tournament, May 4-5 at Superior.

April 29, 2001

RIVER FALLS - After winning two one-run games the day before, the UW-Stout softball team dropped two one-run games in the final day of the UW-River Falls Tournament, Sunday, April 29.

Stout dropped both games to UW-Stevens Point, losing the first, 4-3 after the Pointers scored a run in the bottom of the seventh. The Pointers repeated the exercise in the championship game when they again scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh, taking a 3-2 decision.

Stout had beaten UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire Saturday, as did Stevens Point, setting up the championship showdown.

In the opener, Angie Pinnow (Sr, Bruce) was 2-for-4 with an RBI double to lead Stout, which had eight hits to the Pointers' nine. Stout dodged the bullet all game as the Pointers stranded 15 runners.

In the championship game, the Blue Devils were held to two hits with Pinnow and Erin Slaikeu (Sr, North St. Paul, Minn) picking up the only hits. Jessie Ustby (Sr, Onalaska) drove in a run in the third inning and Pinnow drove in Stout's other run in the fifth. The Pointers scattered five hits in the game, getting single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh.

Pitcher Jenni Bostrom (Fr, Circle Pines, Minn) recorded 18 strikeouts on the weekend, moving her to within four strikeouts of breaking the school single season record of 150 set by Karen Lien in 1995.

April 28, 2001

RIVER FALLS - Lindsay Mechelke (Fr, Lake Elmo, Minn) provided much of the UW-Stout offensive firepower as the Blue Devils won two games in the first day of the UW-River Falls Invitational, Saturday, April 28.

Mechelke recorded the game-winning RBI when she smashed a single to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive in Jessie Ustby (Sr, Onalaska) to give Stout a 3-2 win over host River Falls. Mechelke then went on to hit a two-run home run in an 8-7 win over UW-Eau Claire. Mechelke also walked with the bases loaded to record another RBI against the Blugolds. On the day, Mechelke went 3-for-5 with five RBI.

Against the Falcons, Mechelke drove in a single run in the bottom of the first inning with a double to left field. Stout (20-20) added an unearned run in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead. River Falls (21-13) rallied for two runs in the seventh with two hits.

Jenni Bostrom (Fr, Circle Pines, Minn) picked up the win, striking out nine. Bostrom also recorded the second win, going the distance in both games. Against Eau Claire, Bostrom was tagged for four hits and struck out five.

Stout took a 1-0 lead over Eau Claire (20-14) when Janel Krenz (Sr, McFarland) brought in Cindy Shankle (East Bethel, Minn). But the Blugolds came back with four runs in the second. Mechelke tightened the score to 4-3 with her two-run round tripper in the fourth.

Eau Claire added another run in the fifth but Stout came through with a three-run sixth inning. Krenz, who was moved to third by Angie Pinnow's (Sr, Bruce) double, scored on a passed ball to open the scoring. Mechelke received a free pass and Kristen Olsen (Fr, Eden Prairie, Minn) brought in Mechelke and Pinnow with a double.

Eau Claire added two runs in the seventh with a two-run home run by Danyell Smith but Bostrom got the final two outs. Pinnow batted 3-for-4 in both games.

April 26, 2001

MENOMONIE - Getting base runners was no real problem for UW-Stout, but getting them home was a different story as the Blue Devil softball team dropped a conference doubleheader to UW-Superior, 2-1, 2-0, Thursday, April 26 at Wakanda Park.

Stout (18-20, 2-6) outhit Superior (15-16, 5-3) in both games, and took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning of the opener when Jessie Ustby (Sr, Onalaska) singled to centerfield with two on, scoring Janel Krenz (Sr, McFarland). But indicitive of the day was when Angie Pinnow (Sr, Bruce) was thrown out at third base after the Yellowjackets tried to get Krenz at home.

Superior captured the win in the sixth when Casey Morris singled deep to left field with the bases loaded, scoring two.

Stout went down in order in the final two innings.

The Blue Devils stranded eight runners, and left the bases loaded in the second and with two runners in the third. Stout outhit the Yellowjackets, 5-3, but 'Jackets pitcher Amanda Johnston struck out 10.

Stout's Jenni Bostrom (Fr, Circle Pines, Minn) was no slouch on the mound, as she struckout seven.

In the nightcap, Stout sprayed Johnston, who worked all 14 innings on the day, for seven hits, but could not get a runner past second base as they left six runners. Stout was thrown out twice attempting to steal and hit into one double play.

Superior scored single runs in the second and third innings. Monica Knudtson (Fr, Holmen) was handed the loss, but Knudtson and Tracy Kokke (Fr, Galesville) combined for eight strikeouts - four apiece. Kokke did not allow a hit in three innings of relief.

Stout outhit Superior, 7-3, with Ustby and Lindsay Mechelke (Fr, Lake Elmo, Minn) each going 2-for-3 at the plate.

April 24, 2001

MENOMONIE - The rains came for an opportune time for UW-Stout and ensured the Blue Devils a conference split with UW-River Falls, Tuesday, April 24 at Wakanda Park.

After spotting the Falcons a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the second game, Stout took the lead with a three-run outburst in the third inning and went on to a 3-2 rain-shortened win. In the opener, Stout gave up two runs in each the first and second innings and fell, 5-0.

In the second contest, Jessie Ustby (Sr, Onalaska) lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field with bases loaded to give Stout their first run. Erin Slaikeu (Sr, North St. Paul, Minn) hit a groundout to score Janel Krenz (Sr, McFarland) and Lindsay Mechelke (Fr, Lake Elmo, Minn) singled to bring in Angie Pinnow (Sr, Bruce) with the game-winning run.

Jenni Bostrom (Fr, Circle Pines, Minn) gave up a single to the Falcons' Amanda Moxon in the top of the fourth, but Mechelke cut her down attempting to steal for the final out of the inning.

Stout (18-18, 2-4 WIAC) left the bases loaded in the fourth inning after Ustby's rising laser beam was snagged by second baseman Cindy Ostertag. Ostertag lead off the fifth with a single, but Mechelke picked her off attempting to steal. The Falcons (20-10, 5-3) put two runners on, but Bostrom got Melissa Turbak on the called third strike for the final out.

The Blue Devils were about to bat in the fifth when lighting in the west forced a postponement of play, and the ensuing rains washed out the rest of the game.

April 23, 2001

LA CROSSE - UW-Stout held leads in both games, but could make neither stand up as they lost two conference games, 9-3, 6-1, to UW-La Crosse, Monday, April 23 in La Crosse.

In the opener, La Crosse scored in the bottom of the fourth, but Stout scored three runs in the top of the fifth after Angie Pinnow (Sr, Bruce) tripled in two runs then scored on a wild pitch.

Then the bottom fell out for the Blue Devils as the first seven La Crosse batters scored in the fifth inning and eight runners crossed the plate in the stanza.

Stout (17-17, 1-3 WIAC) collected only four hits in the game and committed four errors.

In the nightcap, Monica Knudtson (Fr, Holmen) singled to lead off the third, then scored after Pinnow got on by an error.

The Eagles (16-13, 3-3) picked up single runs in the third and fourth, then exploded for three runs in the fifth - two unearned. La Crosse tacked on another run in the sixth.

April 28, 2001

LA CROSSE - Dave Rueber (Sr, Afton, Minn) went 7-for-9 on the day, but it wasn't enough as UW-Stout split a conference doubleheader at UW-La Crosse, Saturday, April 28.

Rueber, the Blue Devils' third baseman, was 4-for-5 in the Stout's 9-2 first game win and recorded two RBI. Rueber was 3-for-5 in the second game, a 10-3 loss.

Justin Biever (So, South Milwaukee) gave Stout (18-8-1, 2-6) a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the opener, with a single to right field. Stout added four runs in the third inning, three of them unearned as the Eagles (13-12, 6-4) recorded three errors in the stanza.

Rueber got his two RBI in the sixth inning with a double in the gap between center and right fields.

Clyde Tedrick (Sr, Midland, Texas) went the distance on the mound, scattering seven hits and two runs, one earned. Tedrick recorded five strikeouts.

In the nightcap, the Eagles lit up three Blue Devil pitchers for 15 hits, three home runs and nine earned runs. LaCrosse had big innings in the fourth and seventh, scoring three and four runs, respectively.

Stout will host UW-Platteville, Friday, May 4 at 1 p.m. and UW-Whitewater, Saturday, May 5 at noon.

April 27, 2001

MENOMONIE - Justin Biever's (So, South Milwaukee) bases loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning gave UW-Stout a split with UW-River Falls, Friday, April 27 at Nelson Field.

Biever's one-strike slash past the shortstop gave the Blue Devils their first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) win of the season as he drove in Brock Meyer (So, Lyle, Minn) to give Stout (17-7-1, 1-5) an 8-7 win. The Falcons (14-13, 4-4) took the opener, 11-5.

But Biever would not have had the opportunity to be the hero had Brad O'Connell (Sr, Elk Mound) not lifted a three-run home run in the eighth inning to tie the score.

Trailing 7-3 coming into the eighth, Matt Hoeft (So, Elk Mound) drew a lead off walk, then advanced to third when Nick Sattler's (Jr, Wausau) fielders' choice was booted. JW Dachel (Jr, Bloomer) brought Hoeft in with a sacrifice fly to left field. O'Connell's no-doubt shot to the left field swamp scored Chad Jabary (Fr, Austin, Minn), who was running for Sattler, and Meyer, who had reached on a single.

It didn't look like Stout would have the opportunity to come back when River Falls used a six-run fourth inning to shoot out to the 7-3 lead.

O'Connell was 3-for-6 and Meyer went 3-for-5. Ryan Jensen (Jr, Cylinder, Iowa) came on in the 10th inning with two runners on and one out to earn the win.

In the opener, River Falls powered to a 6-4 lead before racking up five runs in the eighth inning. Home runs were the way of the game early, with each team hitting two - Dave Rueber (Sr, Afton, Minn) and Josh Johnson (Sr, Oregon) each hit dingers, and the Falcons Cameron Laqua and Scott Dewyre had solo shots.

Hoeft was 4-for-5 with a double. Johnson was 3-for-4 and O'Connell 2-for-4.

Matt Lunde (Jr, Eau Claire) was saddled with his second loss of the season, striking out four, while his counterpart, Dan Morgan, went the distance and struck out 11.

April 24, 2001