Softball closes regular season with doubleheader sweep of Lakeland

MEQUON, Wis. – Following a difficult Friday, which saw the Concordia University Wisconsin Softball team drop a pair of one-run games at Dominican, the Falcons wanted to rebound Saturday and close the regular season on a high note. CUW did just that, sweeping Lakeland by scores of 13-8 and 4-2 at home.

The wins likely position the Falcons for either the No. 2 or 3 seed in the NACC Tournament, set to begin next Thursday at Alverno. If Benedictine loses once tomorrow and Concordia Chicago drops one game the Falcons will earn the bye and the No. 2 seed. If Benedictine sweeps Alverno tomorrow, the Falcons will likely be the No. 3 seed, unless Concordia Chicago sweeps NACC unbeaten Aurora.

Sophomore Alexis Holsten (Oshkosh, Wis.) had a monster day at the plate for the Falcons as she went 6-for-7 over the two games with three doubles and four runs scored. Holsten was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles and three runs in the first game.

The opening game was all about the offense as the Falcons and Muskies combined for 31 hits and 21 runs. The two teams roped 11 doubles, one triple and four home runs in the opener, three of the four home runs coming for the home team.

Freshmen Haley Spoerl, Jamie Reiser and Andrea Thiry all belted rountrippers in the opener. Spoerl (Salem, Wis.) and Reiser (Ingleside, Ill.) each drove in team-best three runs, while Spoerl scored three times, as did Thiry (Green Bay, Wis.). Spoerl and Thiry were each a triple away from the cycle, as each player collected three hits, a single, double and home run.

Thiry was very impressive in filling in at the leadoff spot for the Falcons. She was 3-for-4 with the three runs scored and two RBI. The Falcons finished the game with 17 hits as Reiser and freshman Deidra Weinberger (Mayville, Wis.) had two. CUW scored in every inning in game one, including four in the third.

Junior Melissa Perkins (Park Forest, Ill.) got the win in the circle for the Falcons as she pitched five innings, allowing six earned. Perkins struck out one and walked none, while throwing 67 pitches, 47 for strikes. Freshman Emily Brekke (Waterford, Wis.) threw two innings of relief in game one.

Lakeland was led by Angela Tribuzio in the opener as she finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Rosa Gonzalez added a three-run home run for the Muskies, while Sami Jo Williams scored two runs from the leadoff spot. Elizabeth Zimmerman took the loss in the circle.

The Falcons used a three-run fourth inning in game two, highlighted by a two-run go ahead home run from sophomore Carly Sobrilsky (Brookfield, Wis.) to complete the sweep. Sobrilsky had a monster NACC season, driving in 24 runs in 22 conference games and belting seven home runs in league games this season.

The two-run lead was enough for Brekke who came on for five shutout innings of relief in game two. Senior Felicia Meyer (Lewiston, Minn.), who was honored after the games as the team's lone senior, tossed the first two innings of the game. Meyer struck out one, while Brekke recorded four punchouts in her five innings of work.

Sobrilsky, Holsten and sophomore Nicole Bublitz (Brown Deer, Wis.) paced the Falcons offense in the nightcap. Each play tallied two hits and scored a run, Bublitz basically manufacturing the run by herself in the third inning before the three-run fourth. Freshman Karly Jackson (Neenah, Wis.) added an RBI in game two.

Williams had two hits for the Muskies in the second contest and scored one of two runs, while driving in the other. Savannah Stenlund took the loss for Lakeland despite throwing a complete game, allowing four earned.

The Falcons will await word of their opponent and first game time for the NACC Tournament, which will begin next Thursday, April 30 at Alverno College.