FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

ROCHESTER, Minn. (Feb. 24, 2016)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside softball squad owned early leads in both ends of a doubleheader against 21st-ranked Winona State University on Wednesday but was unable to close out both games, falling 7-4 and 12-4 to the Warriors inside the Rochester Dome.
 
The Rangers struck first in the opener, plating a run in the top of the first inning off a Raegan Fingerman base hit. Winona State leveled the score in the bottom of the frame, pushing across an unearned run before adding two more in the second inning for the 3-1 lead.
 
UW-Parkside jumped back on top in the fourth, opening the inning with Cassie Walek and Alexis Simone both reaching base after getting hit by pitch. Paige Schmittling brought in the inning's first score while Emily Bell blasted a double to left field to bring in two runs and give the Rangers the 4-3 edge.
 
The Ranger lead proved fleeting with the Warriors adding two runs in the bottom of the fourth before taking on insurance runs in both the fifth and sixth innings for the 7-4 lead. Parkside had the tying run on deck in the seventh but a flyout stymied any chance of a comeback as WSU collected the win.
 
Five different Rangers accounted for the team's five hits while Carly Dundee was saddled with the loss in the circle, pitching a complete game. WSU's Hanna Lythberg earned the win, striking out four in seven innings of action.
 
In the nightcap, a two-out error allowed Sara Markelonis to score in the first inning, giving the Rangers the early 1-0 lead. Winona State piled on six runs in the second and three in the third to build a 9-1 buffer.
 
Markelonis blasted a three-run home run in the fifth, scoring Rachel Seefeldt and Kat Schaefer but the Warriors answered with three runs of its own in the sixth to seal the game.
 
Bridget Jost absorbed the loss in the circle, striking out two and allowing no earned runs in two innings of action while WSU's McKenna Larsen collected the complete game win with four punchouts.
 
The Rangers return to action on Friday, heading to the Rosemont Dome in suburban Chicago to face the University of Findlay and Walsh University. UW-Parkside faces Findlay at 1:30 p.m. with first pitch against Walsh slated for 6 p.m.