Sports
Pointer softball battles hard, loses in third round of WIAC tourney
The Pointer
afres251@uwsp.edu
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point softball team was eliminated in the third round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament on May 4, 2008.
The Pointers started the tournament with a close loss against UW-River Falls. Stevens Point was the first to put a run on the board in the third inning when Korryn Brooks hit an RBI single, but River Falls tied it up in the fourth with a solo home run.
Both teams remained scoreless until the seventh inning when River Falls scored four runs making the score 5- 1. The Pointers were unable to score in the bottom of the frame and received their first loss of the tournament.
The Pointers came back strong in the second game against UW-Superior headed by Brooks and Elyse Nelson. Brooks went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a pair of doubles and Nelson was 3-for-4 with four RBIs. The Pointers eliminated the Yellowjackets in five innings with a final score of 12-1.
The Pointers again faced elimination as they played against UW-Eau Claire in the third round of tournament play. Eau Claire took an early lead of 2, but powerhouse Laura Van Abel hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half. Later in the inning, Chelsea McIlquham hit an RBI double to tie the game.
Eau Claire took the lead back in the fourth by scoring a run, but could not hold on to it for long. Van Abel hit a 2-run home run giving the Pointers the lead at 4-3 for the first time in the game.
Neither team advanced a runner to home until the sixth inning when Eau Claire hit a 2-out RBI single to give them the lead once again at 5-4. Fighting back, Pointer Brooks hit a RBI single to once again tie the game and headed into extra innings.
Eau Claire hit a single that scored two runs advancing the score to 7-5. The Pointers were unable to score in the bottom of the frame giving them the loss and elimination from the tournament.
The Pointers end their season with an overall record of 24-11 and set a team record for home runs with 31. Other honors include Van Abel being named to the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III All-Great Lakes Region First Team. Brooks was named to the second team.
Van Abel also was named to the All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First team for the third season in a row. Brooks, McIlquham, Danielle Ashbeck, Kayla Kastenmeier, and Niki Schomer were given honorable mentions.
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