PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Mount Mary University softball team headed on a rare northbound trip Tuesday evening to battle Lakeland University for a double-header. The visiting Blue Angels dropped a magnificent pitchers' duel in game one, 1-0, before falling 9-1 in a six-inning decision in the nightcap.
The losses snap a four-game win streak for MMU, which also fell to 6-21 overall the season. Lakeland, meanwhile, improved to 11-18-1.
GAME 1 – Lakeland 1, MMU 0
Freshman pitcher Brianna Lupa (Plano, Ill./Plano) tossed a three-hit, seven-strikeout gem in the opener, but the Blue Angels couldn't find that timely hit as they fell 1-0 in walk-off fashion.
Both pitchers were dialed in from the start. After a quiet first inning that saw only sophomore Brianna Ecker (Fond du Lac, Wis./Stockbridge) record a hit, freshman Marissa Heraly (Brillion, Wis./Brillion) led off with a single to left, and was quickly moved to third on a sacrifice by junior Taylor Hienbuecher (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore). The Muskies would strand Heraly 60 feet away, however, inducing a pair of groundouts to end the threat.
Lakeland threatened in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases after a leadoff single and a pair of walks, but the Blue Angel defense executed on the groundout to keep the game scoreless.
The Muskies would finally break through in the bottom of the seventh, using a leadoff walk and ensuing single. A sacrifice moved both runners up, then a perfectly placed ball offered no opportunity for MMU to get an out as the Muskies walked off Game One.
The Blue Angels actually outhit Lakeland, 4-3, led by a pair of singles from Ecker. She was the only player on either side with multiple hits in game one.
GAME 2 – Lakeland 9, MMU 1 (6 Innings)
Mount Mary repeated its four-hit performance in game two, but this time eight different Muskies recorded a hit of their own—including two triples—to cruise to a six-inning run-rule decision.
Lakeland jumped on Lupa, pitching in her second game of the day, early with five runs and four hits across the first two innings alone. It would add two in the fifth and two more in the sixth, ending the game on a two-RBI triple to deep right field.
Freshman Sam Allen (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows), reigning Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Softball Player of the Week, tallied the lone RBI in game two, scoring senior Hannah Harnsberger (Hillsboro, Ore./Jesuit) in the third inning. Harnsberger, who led off the inning with a single, was replicated by sophomore Kaitlyn Gilpin (Lyons, Ill./Lyons Township) who also drove one up the middle. A sacrifice by junior Lauren Nylund (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) set the table for Allen's drive to left.
Ecker would add the fourth hit of the game in the fourth inning, but the Blue Angels were kept at bay for the rest of the matchup.
ON DECK FOR MMU
A short memory will serve the Blue Angels well, as they head back to The Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill., to face Dominican University Wednesday evening. MMU and the Stars are set for a 6:00 pm start followed by an exhibition contest for game two.
