Green Knights Eked Out by UW-La Crosse

From Sports Information Director, May 12, 2017 | Softball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

LA CROSSE - St. Norbert College had the early lead but eventually succumbed to UW-La Crosse 2-1 in a first-round game of a NCAA Division III Tournament regional at North Campus Field.

The Green Knights (21-15) will face Benedictine University at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game. La Crosse (29-14) moves on to face UW-Oshkosh at 11 a.m. Saturday in a winner's bracket contest. Oshkosh defeated Benedictine 2-0 in the other first-round game.

St. Norbert had the early lead in the first inning when Brianna Braeger led off the game with a single. With one out, Leigh Grall's drive to the right-center field gap went to the fence and then was erred by the right fielder, allowing Braeger to score following what was scored a double and an error.

La Crosse didn't score until the fourth inning, when the Eagles strung together three hits with a run scoring on Ally Purdue's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. The Eagles would score the game-winning run in the sixth inning. Ashley Lindstrom doubled off the left-field fence with one out, and scored on Sarah Mueller's two-out single.

St. Norbert would put two runners on with one out in the seventh inning, but couldn't push across the game-tying run.

The Green Knights were held to four hits, with Tia Danforth and Lexy Campshure adding hits in addition to Braeger and Grall.

Sydney Pfotenhauer took the hard-luck loss, allowing just six hits with no walks and no strikeouts in a complete-game effort.