By Cristy Brusoe

Published April 15, 2010

The UW-River Falls softball team opened its WIAC season April 8 against UW-Eau Claire.

After being shut out the first game against UWEC, the Falcon softball team dominated the second game, 10-6.

The UWEC Blugolds started quickly, scoring a run in the first inning. A strong push was made by the Blugolds in the fourth inning, when they added two more runs after a hit by Bekki Kidnie. UWEC also scored a run in the fifth on a Falcon error.

The Falcons were near scoring in the first inning after Hayley Buchanan hit a single with two outs. Ashley Goettl followed with a double to left field. However, Buchanan was called out on a close play at home plate.

From then on, the Falcons would remain scoreless. The final score of the first game was UWEC 4 and UWRF 0.

“The first game was a tough loss, but we still hit pretty well, we just couldn’t get the hits strung together and they got the bounces. It is rare that a team will completely shut-out a team like ours as we have so many weapons all through the order. Otherwise, we put forth a good team effort,” Goettl, first baseman for the Falcons said.

In the second game of the day, the Falcons came out strong. Sarah Fern had an outstanding game. She hit a three-run homerun to left field in the third inning and a two-run homerun to left field in the fifth inning. Fern was 3-3 in the second game and scored three times.

“As our first conference game I think we were kind of playing it safe, and as a team we knew we needed to just go out and play and bring our game in the second game, and that is exactly what we did,” Fern said.

The Falcons scored four times in the third and sixth innings and two in the fifth. UWEC scored single runs in the second, third and fifth and three in the seventh. Overall, the Falcons hit the ball much better in the second game. Buchanan was 3-4 with three runs scored. Rose Tusa was 2-3 with two RBI, Goettl was 2-3 with a run scored, and Nicole Lubahn was 3-4 with one run scored.

After a rough first game pitching, Tusa picked up the win in a relief effort. She allowed five hits in the second game and four earned runs. Her record now resides at 9-6 for this year.

Head Coach Jody Gabriel says that she believes the team played well and the team is getting stronger as the season goes on. “Our pitching has been excellent this season, our hitting is getting much stronger and our defense is making some big plays,” Gabriel said.

The final score of the game was 10-6. The Falcons are now 14-8 overall and 1-1 in WIAC. The Falcons will play UWPlatteville on April 17 at 3 p.m.

“We have set a goal of winning the conference title this season, and we definatley have the talent for reaching it. In each game we have played we are improving our game and making big strides toward becoming a conference championship team,” Gabriel said.