CLERMONT, Fla. – The Carroll University softball team got back on track Thursday evening with a doubleheader sweep of Fredonia and UW-River Falls.
GAME 1
The Pioneers (5-8) shut out Fredonia to start the afternoon with a score of 5-0.
Riley Pavelka picked herself up and went seven innings allowing two hits and striking out a career-high nine batters.
Abby Curtis and
Sydney Raddeman provided the majority of the offense for the Pios, both recording two hits and two runs, while
Reagan Goluch supplied two RBI. Raddeman and
Claudia Spencer ripped doubles, while four Pios stole bases as well.
Carroll wasted no time getting runs on the board, with a leadoff single from
Abby Curtis.
Lauren Harshbarger recorded an RBI ground out, and Goluch did the same two batters later. Carroll tacked on three more runs in the top of the third, highlighted by Raddeman's RBI double.
Fredonia left only two batters on base all game, as Pavelka worked through the lineup with ease.
GAME 2
The Pioneers (6-8) inched closer to .500 after taking down UW-River Falls by a score of 9-3.
Grace Bradley got the win by going over 5.2 innings, while
Breanna Roberts picked up the bits in the final 1.1 innings.
Bradley worked up to 102 pitches, walking four, and striking out four, but only surrendered four hits and two earned runs. Roberts stepped in late in the sixth and fanned two over her next five batters faced.
Raddeman went 3-4 with three runs scored, followed by Spencer and Curtis with two hits each. Spencer recorded four RBI as Carroll racked up 12 hits on nine RBI. Carroll batters only struck out twice, and five different Pios tallied steals on the base paths.
Bradley struck out the side to begin the game, and Carroll brought the offense in the bottom of the first. With runners on the corners, Harshbarger sent in Curtis for the first run of the game, and Goluch sent in Raddeman who advanced to third the previous at-bat.
The Falcons tied the game the next inning after a leadoff walk followed by a double started a scoring stretch.
Carroll broke the tie in the bottom of the third with a leadoff single leading two a Goluch RBI double. Goluch scored two batters later to give Carroll a 4-2 lead. Goluch walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, and Spencer's two-out double to center field scored all three Pios.
The Falcons got one back in the fifth and threatened Carroll with back-to-back walks in the sixth. Bradley was relieved by Roberts who struck out the final batter in the inning. The Pios added some security with Goluch's third RBI of the day, as well as Spencer's fourth later that inning.
Roberts ended the game with a strikeout with a runner on second to secure the win.
Carroll has two games remaining in Florida on Friday morning, March 17 against SUNY Geneseo and Bowdoin College before returning home to Wisconsin.
