PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville softball team (22-14, 8-5 WIAC) split Saturday's doubleheader with No. 14 ranked UW-Oshkosh (30-7-1, 11-3 WIAC). The Pioneers won game one 2-1 before dropping game two 4-2.
UW-Platteville's victory marked the team's first win against UW-Oshkosh in 14 games, with the last win coming in April of 2021.
Game One
The Pioneers got on the board early when junior
Allison Peters' solo home run to left field put them ahead 1-0. The Titans tied it up with one run scored in the second inning, but senior
Melissa Dietz singled through the left side to drive in the go ahead run in the bottom of the third.
Freshman
Nora Buske closed out the final two innings for her third save on the year, striking out one, walking none and allowing zero hits. Freshman
Payton Gile (W, 2-2) captured the win and tossed 2.2 innings of relief, striking out two, walking two and allowing two hits.
Game Two
Both defenses went to work early and the game remained scoreless through three innings, including both teams leaving three runners stranded in the third. A home run in the fourth inning put the Titans on the board, but Pioneers quickly knotted the game when freshman
Kaia McVay stole home.
UW-Oshkosh began to pull ahead first with a two RBI single in the fifth and then a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Trailing 4-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, UW-Platteville scored one run, but was unable to close the gap.
Senior
Carlie Jo Brownlee got the start and struck out five, walked three and gave up one run on four hits in 3.2 innings.
Next up, the Pioneers will travel up to UW-River Falls on Sunday to finish the remainder of their second game against UW-River Falls starting at 2 p.m. The Pioneers and Falcons are tied 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth. A win locks in the #2 seed in the WIAC tournament.
