No. 16 Softball Overwhelms Edgewood in NACC Opener

VERONA, Wis. – The 16^th-ranked Falcons showed no rust from not playing a game since March 17. The Falcons proved to be the superior bird on Wednesday in the battle of the birds with a 12-1 victory in game one and an 18-2 victory in game two. The NACC-opening sweep sends CUW to 14-1 and to 2-0 in the NACC.

Freshman Jess Pozezinski (Lake Villa, Ill.) started the scoring on the day with what became a common occurrence with a home run over the right-field fence.

Pozezinski homered again in the third inning with a ball over the left-centerfield fence to score junior Claudia Utz (Lockport, Ill.) and senior Kelsey Bollon (Orangeville, Ill.).

The Eagles landed their lone run on a passed ball in the fourth inning.

The Falcons responded with four runs in the fifth inning.             

Claudia Utz started the spree with a double to centerfield to get sophomore Madison Wheat (Coweta, Okla.) safely across home plate.

Jess Pozezinski kept the ball in the park for the first time with an infield single to send in Kelsey Bollon. She then scored Utz when she got herself into a run down and distracted the Edgewood defense.

Freshman Megan Bloyer (Oregon, Wis.) closed the inning with a home run over the right-centerfield fence.

Bloyer struck again with a single through the left side of the infield in the sixth inning scoring Madison Wheat.

Senior Taylor Kuske (Kaukauna, Wis.) was then hit with the bases loaded as Kelsey Bollon jogged across home plate.

Junior Ashley Zappa (Zion, Ill.) had a thunderous infield single that scored Jess Pozezinski.

Junior Sydney Erdmann (Geneva, Ill.) secured the final run of the game when she was walked and freshman Amber Behr (Oak Creek, Wis.) scored.

The Falcons landed 11 hits in the victory. Jess Pozezinski led the game with three hits and five RBI.

Senior Gina Followell (Romeoville, Ill.) had 11 strikeouts in her seventh victory of the season.

Jess Pozezinski is the first Falcon to hit two home runs in a game since Jenna Pozezinski did so against Benedictine.

Wednesday was the first time that CUW had three home runs in a game since they did so against MSOE in the 2021 NACC Tournament.

The Falcons scored early and often in game two.

Taylor Kuske started the attack with a two-run home run that also scored Sydney Erdmann.

In the second inning, Taylor Kuske had a sacrifice fly to score Madison Wheat.

Claudia Utz was walked with the bases loaded to score junior Abby Kerrins (Cullom, Ill.).

The Eagles never learned and continued to pitch to Pozezinski and she smashed a grand slam to close the second inning and get Claudia Utz, Kelsey Bollon and Sydney Erdmann across the plate.

Taylor Kuske also started off the third inning scoring with a single to right field that added Madison Wheat onto the scoreboard.

Claudia Utz then double to left field that scored Kelsey Bollon and Taylor Kuske.

A single from junior Gabbi Gaziano (Beloit, Wis.) scored sophomore Emily Walters (Waupun, Wis.) and freshman Anna Ruffolo (Addison, Ill.).

The Eagles found their way onto the scoreboard in the third inning with an unearned run.

Claudia Utz got the ball rolling in the fourth inning with a double to right field to score Taylor Kuske and sophomore Nicole Grove (Sussex, Wis.)

Jess Pozezinski doubled down the left-field line that landed Utz and Bollon in the nest.

A single from Megan Bloyer to rightfield had senior Krystal Cortez (Aurora, Ill.) jog across home plate.

Senior Nicki Becker (Brodhead, Wis.) pitched the first four innings and did not allow an earned run and had a strikeout.

Freshman Jasmine Freeze (Bolingbrook, Ill.) pitched the fifth inning, where Edgewood scored a run.

Taylor Kuske was a perfect three-for-three in game two and finished with three runs and four RBI.

Claudia Utz quieted the Edgewood fans with five RBI on two hits and a walk.

Kelsey Bollon led the game with four hits on four at-bats.

Jess Pozezinski raked in six RBI in game two to tie the program record and 11 for the day.

The Falcons finished with 21 hits, the most since April 28, 2019, when they played Rockford.

The Blue and White will be tested on Saturday when they travel south to take on the 17^th-ranked Raiders of MSOE.