Simpson sweeps UW-Eau Claire
INDIANOLA, Iowa - Keri Sorensen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) drove in four runs and Whitney Oviatt (Carnation, Wash./Cedarcrest) picked up a pair of wins as the Simpson softball team swept Wisconson-Eau Claire in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Simpson Softball Complex. Simpson won game one 1-0 and took game two 5-3.
Sorensen drove in the lone run in the opening game and crushed a three-run home run in game two to help the Storm (11-6) increase their winning streak to five. Oviatt (6-4) pitched all 14 innings, shutting out the Blugolds while striking out six in game one.
In the first game, Simpson got on the board in the first inning thanks to an RBI double off the bat of Sorensen. After leading off the game with a single, Tieryn Potratz (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) scored from second on the play.
Potratz led Simpson at the plate, going 4-for-7 on the day with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Sorensen went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
The Simpson defense survived a scare in the fourth inning, as the Blugolds (2-8) loaded the bases with two outs. But Oviatt got Ainsley Klar to ground into a fielders choice as the shortstop Sorensen opted for the force out at the plate to escape the jam.
The Storm did their damage in the early innings again in game two, plating three runs in the first and two in the second.
With runners on first and second and one out in the first, Sorensen sent a delivery from Eau Claire starter Jess Hegseth over the center field wall to give the Storm the early 3-0 lead. RBI singles from Allie Hock (Lawrence, Kan./Free State) and Kelsie Host (Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk) gave Simpson a 5-0 lead after two innings.
After nine scoreless innings, the Blugolds got to Oviatt for the first time in the third inning of game two on a run-scoring single by Klar. The visitors took advantage of an infield error by the Storm in the sixth, adding two more tallies to pull within two.
Oviatt closed the door in the seventh, however, retiring the Blugolds after issuing a one-out walk.
Simpson opens its Iowa Conference schedule Saturday, April 3, hosting Buena Vista in a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Simpson Softball Complex.
