CLERMONT, Fla. – Softball opened its trip to Florida at The Spring Games by going 1-1 over two games on Monday, Mar. 2, highlighted by a 7-0 shutout win over Alvernia University. The Knights fell to Adrian College 9-3 to close the day.
Wartburg is now 3-3 overall to begin the season and will play eight more games in Florida between Tuesday, Mar. 3 and Saturday, Mar. 7.
Game Summary
- vs Alvernia
- First Inning
- Hannah Hoefer worked around two early walks in the circle to strand both runners in the opening frame
- Reagan Hassel led off the bottom half with a walk and then a Liz Kruckenberg single followed by a double steal put runners on second and third, but Alvernia got out of the inning with a double play
- Second Inning
- Hoefer struck out two in a three-up and three-down inning for the Wartburg defense
- Warburg got on the board in the bottom half of the second with a two-out rally led by a single from Alexis Larson and an RBI-double from Addy Wells to make it 1-0
- Third Inning
- Following two hits but no runs from the Wolves in the top half, Hassel reached base on an error and reached third following a groundout and a steal
- Ally Happ put down an RBI bunt that scored Hassel and put Happ on base, where she stole second and then was brought home two batters later after an RBI bunt-single from Carley Bredar to make it 3-0 headed to the fourth inning
- Fourth Inning
- Hoefer and the Knights defense worked out of another jam in the top of the fourth inning when Alvernia had runners on second and third before the Wolves hit into a fielder's choice where Jenna Wiebenga threw out a runner at home to preserve the 3-0 Wartburg lead
- In the bottom of the fourth, Larson walked and Wells reached on an error to put two runners on base before a double from Hassel brought both runners home to make the score 5-0
- Hassel was later scored following an RBI sacrifice bunt from Kruckenberg to push the lead to 6-0 headed to the final two innings
- Fifth Inning
- The Knights added another run in the bottom of the fifth after a walk from Bella Mulder that was followed by an RBI-double from Wiebenga
- Sixth Inning
- Jillian Panther entered the game in the circle and got three-straight outs following a leadoff baserunner to keep the score at 7-0
- Seventh Inning
- The Knights completed the shutout with three outs in the top half of the seventh to defeat Alvernia 7-0
- vs Adrian
- First Inning
- The Knights were the visitors on the scoreboard and put up a two-run top of the first after Mulder crushed a home run to score Happ and herself
- Hassel led the game off with a leadoff bunt single, but was thrown out on a fielder's choice
- Adrian was able to answer in the bottom half to make the score 2-1 after one inning
- Second Inning
- Following a hitless top half of the second, Adrian turned five hits into five runs in the bottom half to give the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead
- Third Inning
- Wartburg got a run back in the third inning when Happ singled and then stole second base, which led to Mulder driving her home with an RBI-single to center field
- The Knights defense closed the bottom half with a 4-6-3 double play
- Fourth Inning
- Adrian used two hits and an error to add a run in the bottom half of the fourth and make the score 7-3
- Sixth Inning
- Katelyn Klever singled in the fifth and then Wiebenga singled in the sixth, but both were left stranded as the score remained 7-3 headed to the bottom half of the sixth
- Adrian scored two runs after back-to-back singles plated runners from second and third
- Seventh Inning
- Kaylee Mescher drew a walk for the Knights in the final frame, but the Knights could not mount a comeback as Adrian closed out a 9-3 win
Top Performers
- vs Alvernia
- Reagan Hassel
- 2/3 at the plate
- Two RBI
- Two runs scored
- Two stolen bases
- Double
- Walk
- Hannah Hoefer
- Win (2-1 in decisions to begin the season)
- 5.0 shutout innings pitched
- Three strikeouts
- Four hits allowed
- Jenna Wiebenga
- 1/3 at the plate
- RBI
- Double
- Addy Wells
- 1/3 at the plate
- RBI
- Double
- vs Adrian
Notes/Streaks
- The Knights are now 3-0 all time against Alvernia and 2-2 all time against Adrian
- Both opponents were 20-win teams a season ago
- Hassel's game vs Alvernia marked her third multi-RBI game of the season
- Has recorded a hit in four-straight contests
- Mulder has now reached base in every game this season
- Seven RBI and five runs scored through six games
- Second career win in the circle for Hoefer in game one
- Kruckenberg recorded her first RBI of the season against Alvernia
- 12 different Knights have recorded at least one RBI through six games
- Mulder (seven), Hassel (six), Happ (five) and Wiebenga (five) lead the team in RBI so far this season
- Third career home run for Mulder
- Wartburg has now hit three home runs as a team this season
- Happ (eight), Hassel (seven) and Bredar (six) lead the team in stolen bases this season
Next Time Out
The Knights continue play in Florida tomorrow with games against RPI at 10 a.m. eastern time and again at 2:30 p.m. eastern time against Alma.
