Softball Hosts Stout Doubleheader Wednesday

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Posted: Monday, April 18, 2005

EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire softball team will play host to the first of two conference doubleheaders this season on Wednesday, when the Blugolds welcome I-94 rival UW-Stout to Gelein Field at 4:00 p.m.

Eau Claire posted a 4-2 record last week but finished the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Cluster Tournament in Oshkosh with a split 2-2 mark. The Blugolds took both ends of a doubleheader Thursday against La Crosse but suffered losses in the first game of each day at the tournament to move to 23-6 for the season and 6-2 in WIAC action. Stout also finished 2-2 at the cluster tourney.

Andrea Neuville (Jr.-Green Bay/West) led the Blugolds to three victories on the week and improved her season record to 11-2 this season. She finished the week with 20 innings pitched, allowing 17 hits and just three earned runs. She struck out eight and walked just one while allowing only one extra base hit, a double. The Blugold offense was relatively quiet as they scored just 13 runs in six games, including a six run effort against Whitewater. Jill Janke (Fr.-Black River Falls) had a big week as she raised her season batting average to .375. She finished the week 9-for-19 for a .474 average while tallying five doubles and an RBI. She leads the Blugolds in batting average, doubles (9), RBI (24), and hits (33).

Casey Leisgang (Fr.-Seymour) and Steph Farenbaugh (Jr.-Brownton, MN/McLeod West) had sub-par weeks last week but are still posting impressive numbers on the season. Leisgang is hitting .325 with a team-best five home runs and 26 runs scored. She also leads the team with a .435 on-base percentage and 14 walks. Farenbaugh is hitting .319 with 19 runs scored and 13 RBI.

Mallory McKinney (So.-Brooklyn Park, MN/Champlin Park), despite a 1-2 record in the circle last week, continues to be central to the Blugolds' success. She is 10-4 this season with a 1.15 ERA and has posted nine complete games and five shutouts. Her pitching isn't the only thing keeping her in the lineup, as she has a .300 batting average with two home runs and 17 RBI.

The Blue Devils come into Wednesday's doubleheader with an overall record of 11-14 and a conference mark of 3-3. Erin O?Connell leads the Stout regulars with a .351 batting average, 26 hits, five home runs, and 20 RBI. She also leads the team in slugging percentage (.649), on-base percentage (.492), doubles (7), and total bases (48) while tying for the team lead with 13 runs scored.

Kaela Wold is second on the team in batting average among players with more than 25 at-bats. She is hitting .296 for the year with two home runs and 11 RBI. Megan Donley leads the Blue Devil pitching staff with a 2.32 ERA but is just 4-9 on the year.

The Blugolds and Blue Devils have each won three games in the last two years against one another. Eau Claire posted a 2-1 record over Stout last season but was just 1-2 in the 2003 season.

The action begins this Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. on Gelein Field at Carson Park.