PEORIA, Ill. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville softball team opened its 2022 season with a pair of games Thursday and Friday at the Peoria Invite. After dropping the opening game 1-0 in nine innings to Augustana the Pioneers shutout their next two opponents, Alverno 20-0 and Mount Mary 7-0 before dropping their final game 7-1 to Elmhurst.
Over the course of the tournament, the Pioneers stacked up 54 hits and 28 runs.
Claire Bakkestuen (Jr./Forest Lake, Minn.) led the way with five hits and eight RBIs. The Pioneer knocked out two homeruns with the first being a 4RBI grand slam in the first inning of the Aleverno game on Thursday.
Amanda Stanczuk (Jr./Palatine, Ill.) tallied eight hits and three RBIs while Rachel Plautz (Sr./Wausau, Wis.) added seven hits and three RBIs and let the Pioneers in stolen bases with four.
The Pioneers finished a fairly clean two-day season opening event committing just two errors over the course of the four games.
In the circle, Bakkenstuen struck out 14 batters, walked three and gave up 10 hits and five runs, four earned over the course of 12.2 innings pitched across the four games. McKenna Rommel (Sr./Davenport, Iowa) earned the win in the Mount Mary game and struck out two while offering up nine hits and three earned runs over 9.2 innings pitched. Jordan Johnson (Fr./Coal Valley, Ill.) tallied the other win in the Alverno game.
The Pioneers will return to action on Tuesday, March 8 in Loves Park, Illinois when they take on Beloit College in a doubleheader neutral sight venue. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
