MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The UW-River Falls softball team split a pair of games Saturday at the Auggie Dome Games in Minneapolis, falling to Crown 4-8 before the bats got hot in the second game for a 17-0, five-inning victory over Augsburg, the most amount of runs since 2022 for Falcon softball.
Crown 8, UW-River Falls 4
The Falcons struck first in their morning matchup with Crown, plating two runs in the bottom of the second. After
Lacie Lilyquist drew a walk and
Grace Gardner reached on a bunt single,
Kayla Dolan delivered a two-RBI single to right field to give UWRF a 2-0 advantage.
River Falls added another run in the third when Lilyquist singled down the left field line to score
Ella Stuber. The Falcons regained a 4-3 lead in the fourth, as
Alexa Dusterhoft singled and later scored on an RBI single from Stuber.
Crown responded with a four-run fifth inning to take control and tacked on an insurance run in the sixth to secure the 8-4 decision.
Offensively, Gardner finished 2-for-2, while Dolan drove in two runs. Stuber added a hit, RBI and a run scored in the effort.
UW-River Falls 17, Augsburg 0 (5 innings)
The Falcons bounced back in dominant fashion in the afternoon contest with 17 runs on 18 hits in a five-inning victory.
River Falls set the tone early, scoring five runs in the opening inning.
Addison Eaton and
Lacie Lilyquist each drove in runs before
Ella Woida delivered a two-RBI double, and
Hannah Effertz capped the frame with an RBI single to make it 5-0.
The Falcons broke the game open in the third with a 10-run frame. The highlight came when Kressel launched a grand slam to left center, a four-RBI inning for the Falcon catcher. Effertz added a two-RBI triple later in the frame as River Falls pushed the lead to 15-0.
Woida paced the offense with a 3-for-3 performance driving in five runs. Effertz went 3-for-3 with four RBI, including a triple, while Kressel totaled four RBI. In the circle, Dusterhoft earned the win, tossing two scoreless innings, and
Lucy Knutson closed out the final three frames to preserve the shutout.
