Softball

April 5, 2003

Donley pitched the first three innings, and Zahn picked up the final two innings as the Blue Devils crushed Minnesota-Morris, 13-0, in the second game of the tournament. The two faced the minimum 15 batters, as Donley struck out two and Zahn struck out three.

Kaela Wold (So, Altoona) went 3-for-3 with four RBI with two doubles and a home run.

In the other games of the tournament, the Blue Devils defeated Morris, 8-6, in the opening game, then lost, 6-1, to William Penn in the final game of the day.

In the first game with Morris, the Blue Devils (9-8) surrendered two first inning runs, then came back with a vengeance in the second inning, sending 10 batters to plate and scoring five runs. Wold's two-run, two-out double highlighted the inning.

Stout gave up single runs in the second and third innings, and two runs in the fifth.

After quickly dispatching Morris in the second game, the Blue Devils ran out of gas in a 6-1 loss to William Penn. Stout scored their only run in the first when Erin O'Connell (So, Altoona) brought in Wold with a double.

William Penn took the lead with two runs in the third, then pounded Stout pitching for four runs in the sixth.

Impending threatening winter weather forced the tournament from a two-day to a one-day affair.

Stout will be at UW-La Crosse, Wednesday, April 9, then will be at UW-Stevens Point to participate in the WIAC cluster tournament where they are scheduled to play four games, April 12-13.

April 1, 2003

Heise racked up 12 strikeouts in the first game and got the game winning hit, then came back for 10 strikeouts in the nightcap.

The Blue Devils (7-7) led in both games, but the Saints (13-8) came up with rally innings for the wins.

In the opener, Stout took a 2-1 lead in the second when Erin O'Connell (So, Altoona) hit a home run to deep center field with one out to tie the game. Courtney Zafft (Fr, Rochester, Minn) scored when she and Bethany Johnson (Fr, Black River Falls) executed a double steal.

The Saints took the lead back in the fifth when Heise singled up the middle to drive in two runs. Scholastica added a solo run in the seventh.

Stout struck first in the second game when Kaela Wold (So, Altoona) doubled down the left field line in the first inning to drive in Kim Caswell (Jr, Stanley), who had reached on a lead off single. Those hits were Stout's only hits of the game.

Scholastica got one run on an error in the fourth and added a two out run later in the inning. Stout went down in order in the last three innings.

April 7, 2003

The Pointers (12-2-1, 5-0 WIAC) led from start to finish in the first game, but had to overcome Stout (2-13, 1-4) leads in the final two games.

In the opener, the Pointers opened up with a three run first, and tacked on two more runs in the third. Joe Waksmonski had a big game, hitting two-run homers in the first and the fifth to help blow the game open.

Stout's Jim Foreman (Jr, Apple Valley, Minn) broke up a no-hitter in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run blast to cut the lead to 10-2. Seth Maier (Fr, Park Falls) doubled in two runs in the fifth.

In the middle game, Stout scored in the first when Jake Riek (Jr, Boyceville) scored on an error and Maier drove in Foreman to give Stout a 2-0 lead. The Pointers halved the lead with a run scoring double by Matt Peterson in the second. Stout moved the lead to 4-1 when Nick Ohman (So, Glenwood City) tripled in Jason Kuehn (So, Osseo), then scored on a error.

Stevens Point chipped away at the lead, putting up single runs in the fourth and fifth to pull to within 4-3. A double by Maier gave Stout a 5-3 lead in the fifth.

The Pointers took the lead in the sixth inning. Waksmonski reached on a lead-off error, then came in on Matt Peetz's home run to tie the score at five all. Matt Polomis hit a run scoring double for what would prove to be the final 6-5 score.

In the final game, the Blue Devils scored two unearned runs in the second inning, then added another run when Nick Ziegler (Fr, Plymouth, Minn) plated Greg Meinertz (So, LaCrosse) with a single to right field.

Jones put the Pointers right back into the game with a two-run shot in the third inning. The Pointers took control in the fifth inning with a six-run explosion that saw 11 Stevens Point players to the plate. The Pointers added two more in the sixth.

On the day, Stevens Point notched seven home runs.

The games were originally scheduled to be played April 5-6, but snow covered the field after a Friday, April 4 storm. Stout players and staff cleared the field over the weekend, but it was not playable until today.

Stout will be at UW-LaCrosse, Wednesday, April 9, then return home to host UW-Platteville, April 12-13.

April 2, 2003

The Blue Devils (2-10, 1-1 WIAC) cracked out 15 hits in the first game - getting at least one hit per inning - but stranded 10 runners on their way to a 7-3 loss. Stout bounced back in a yawner with a 19-hit, 20-4 win over the Yellowjackets.

Jon Severson (So, Hayfield, Minn) pitched well for the Blue Devils in the first game, allowing only one run over the first three innings, but got reached for three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to absorb the loss. Severson scattered nine hits and struck out six.

The Yellowjackets (3-5, 1-1) got a run in the top of the first, and added an insurance run in the ninth.

Stout did not roll over in the ninth with Brock Meyer (Sr, Lyle, Minn) driving in a run and Greg Meinertz (So, La Crosse), who went 4-for-5 in the game, smacking a two-run double with two outs, keying a five-hit inning. Stout loaded the bases, but stranded all three runners.

The Blue Devils picked up where they left off in the nightcap. After surrendering a first inning run, Justin Biever (Sr, South Milwaukee) delivered a two-run double, Jim Foreman (Jr, Apple Valley, Minn) doubled in a run and Jason Kuehn (So, Augusta) drove in a run to give Stout a 4-1 lead.

Stout had six-run outbursts in both the fourth and sixth innings of the game ended by the 12-run rule.

Biever was 4-for-5 with four runs scored and four RBI. Foreman was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI, while Kuehn was 2-for-4 with four RBI.

Dan Yudchitz (So, Stevens Point) picked up the win, going five innings and allowing no earned runs.

Several Blue Devils saw their batting averages take big jumps, but none as much as Meinertz, who went 6-for-8 on the day. Meinertz saw his batting average jump from .261 to a team-leading .387. Biever, who went 6-for-10 today, jumped from .265 to .341.

April 4, 2003

ST. PAUL, Minn - Tina Rodin (So, Champlin, Minn) picked up UW-Stout's lone win in an 8-1 loss at Hamline University, Friday, April 4.

Rodin, playing at No. 4 singles, downed Kathie Winters, 6-3, 7-5.