ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Gustavus softball team played a doubleheader at the Rochester Regional Bubble on Saturday and fell to Buena Vista 5-0 before falling to No. 20 UW-Oshkosh 11-0. With the losses the Gusties record falls to 1-3 overall.
“Today was a tough day,” said Head Coach Britt Stewart. “We didn’t execute the stuff we’ve been working on the past month. We need to continue to work on our base running, hitting approaches, creating momentum, and our defensive play. The positive part is that we have only played four games. Our team has a ton of upside and our girls are ready to get back in the gym and put the work in. We will be ready to compete again in seven days.”
In a game where Gustavus and Buena Vista both tallied eight hits, it was the timeliness of those hits that made the difference for BVU.
The Beavers got the scoring started in the second when they had a batter reach on an error, sacrificed her over, and then got a base hit to take a 1-0 lead.
Buena Vista added to their lead in the fifth when they got their inning started with another batter reaching on an error. They were able to piece together three hits in the inning and bring in three runs to take a 4-0 lead.
The Gusties had their chance in the sixth when they recorded four hits, but solid defense by Buena Vista kept the shutout alive as they threw out two runners trying to advance extra bases in the inning.
BVU added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth thanks to back-to-back doubles and then held the Gusties scoreless in the seventh to take the 5-0 victory.
In game one Gustavus had seven different players record hits with Kenzie Skuza (Fy., Princeton, Minn.) notching two. Aly Freeman (Jr., Omaha, Neb.) got the start on the mound and suffered the loss going four innings and allowing two earned runs. Ashley Neuenfeldt (So., Bloomington, Minn.) came on in relief and pitched the last two innings, allowing one earned run.
In game two UW-Oshkosh used a stellar pitching performance and solid hitting to take down Gustavus.
The Titans were able to scratch our five runs on seven hits in the first two innings to take the lead early. Oshkosh was able to put the game away a few innings later when they put together a six-run fourth inning thanks to five hits and a pair of Gustie errors.
Marissa Marsolek (So., Savage, Minn.) got the lone Gustie hit in the contest while Skuza and Emily Carlson (Jr., Burnsville, Minn.) both had two plate appearances in the contest with a pair of walks.Amara Packey (Fy., Fridley, Minn.) made her collegiate debut on the mound with a shutout inning of work while Neuenfeldt suffered the loss in the contest going three and a third innings and allowing five earned runs.
The Gusties will next be in action on Sunday when they travel back to the Rochester Regional Bubble for a noon contest with UW-River Falls followed by a 2 p.m. contest with UW-Eau Claire.