Piper softball sweeps #9 UW-River Falls

The Falcons, who were ranked ninth in the most recent NFCA poll, only managed five hits, and couldn’t manufacture a run, off of Weaver in the opener.

Hamline's scoring started after three and a half innings of scoreless softball, as Grace Weinreich (Jr., Wahkon, Minn.) hit a one-out triple down the right field line to get into scoring position in the fourth. Sara Mickelson (Sr., West St. Paul, Minn.) then drew a walk, and with a double-steal, Weinreich scored the opening run and Mickelson moved to second. 

Mickelson was then driven home on  two-out double from Ashley Anderberg to left center for the 2-0 lead.

In the next inning, Kellie Hoen (Jr., Cologne, Minn.) singled and then advanced to second on a bunt from Heidi Larsen (Fy., Andover, Minn.).  Jourdan Ulrich (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.) then drove Hoen home and earned an RBI on a single to left field that made the score 3-0 in favor of the hosts.

In the second game, the Pipers scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning on four hits. Mickelson and Hoen each tallied a run, while Cortney Bailey (Fy., Blooming Prairie, Minn.) added the third while pinch running for Erin Farley (Fy., St. Paul, Minn.).

Anderberg, Larsen, and Andrea Hedican (Fy., St. Paul, Minn.) had the three RBI in the second game.

The Falcons’ scored a run in the fifth and in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2. In each of the last two innings, the Falcons had the tying run on third before Tacheny forced them into a fly out in the sixth and a ground out in the seventh to get out of the innings.

With the two non-conference wins, the Pipers evened their record to 8-8, 2-0 MIAC, while the Falcons fell to 21-3, 4-0 WIAC. Hamline will host Saint Mary’s tomorrow, Tuesday, April 15, at 4:00 p.m. in an MIAC match-up.

Hamline University belongs to the NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, one of the most competitive conferences in the nation. Hamline supports 19 intercollegiate athletic teams for men and women. Find out more about Hamline athletics at www.hamline.edu/hamline_info/athletics.

Creative and innovative teaching and learning attract a diverse student body of nearly 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students to Hamline University. Challenged to create and apply knowledge in local and global contexts, Hamline students develop an individual and community ethic of social justice, civic responsibility, and inclusive leadership and service.

Ranked first in Minnesota among comprehensive master’s universities by U.S.News & World Report, Hamline is also Minnesota’s first university, founded in 1854, and among the first co-educational institutions in the nation.