By Natalie Conrad

Published April 30, 2010

The UW- River Falls softball team has been very busy with a recent slew of home and away games back-to-back during the last two weeks, according to coach Jody Gabriel. The team is currently 21-11 overall and 8-4 in the WIAC.

The Falcons hosted two home games on April 17 and April 18 against UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse, respectively. UWRF won both games against Platteville, 14-0 and 8-5. They lost both games against La Crosse, 3-4 and 1-4.

“Our team has shown a lot of promise, and we’ve proven that with convincing wins over Platteville and Stout,” freshman Ashley Goettl said. “We also know we can compete with the best in the conference, as it took extra innings for La Crosse, who is undefeated in conference play, to beat us.”

On Thursday, April 22, the team earned a WIAC sweep at UW-Stout. They won the first game, 7-2, and the second, 4-3. During the first game, pitcher Rose Tusa started on the mound and got the win. She worked the first six innings and allowed two earned runs and five hits. She walked three batters and struck out six. Dana Book hit her first home run of the season in the sixth inning. In the second game, Klein started on the mound for the Falcons and pitched the first 3.1 innings. She allowed three earned runs on six hits. She walked one batter and struck out four. Tusa picked up the win in relief. Nicole Lubahn scored a run in the top of the seventh to get the win in the second game.

Over the last few games, several players have had outstanding performances. Senior Jessica Lundgren has an eight-game hit streak and has had multi-hit games in six of those eight. Lundgren has had eight runs and one RBI total in the recent games against Platteville, La Crosse and Stout. Goettl has had three runs and eight RBI in the same recent series of games. Consquently the team has won all but three games in April. “Our team has so many weapons, that coming into the final stretch of competition, we will look to be the team to beat,” Goettl said. “This week and into next week, we look to gain some momentum and finish strong in our final games. We know we are capable of making it to the postseason; now we just have to prove it.”

The home game against Ripon scheduled for April 24 was cancelled due to rain. The team will go on to play eight conference games in six days, starting on Tuesday at UW- Stevens Point, followed by two home games against UW-Superior on Wednesday, two games at UWOshkosh on Saturday and two games at UW-Whitewater on Sunday.

The games at UW-Stevens Point are scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 25, have been postponed due to wet fields at UWSP and the forecast for more rain throughout the day. The two teams will play a WIAC doubleheader on Tuesday, with the first pitch scheduled at 3 p.m.