ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Senior
Rachel Seefeldt lined a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning lifting Wisconsin-Parkside to a 5-4 victory over Ashland on the final day of the Lewis Division II Midwest Regional Dome Tournament on Sunday in the Rosemont Dome.
Carly Dundee began the Rangers winning rally by drawing a walk. Pinch runner
Emilee Nelson advanced to second when
Raegan Fingerman laid down a sacrifice bunt.
Cassie Walek then doubled to center, which advanced Nelson to third base putting the winning run just 60 feet away. Seefeldt then drove a 1-2 pitch down the left field line to bring home Nelson with the winning run and extend the Rangers winning streak to two straight games.
With the win, Wisconsin-Parkside improved to 4-9 on the season and finished the Lewis Tournament with a 2-3 record. The Rangers dropped their first three games of the tournament, but defeated fourth-ranked Grand Valley State and Ashland in their final two games.
The Rangers rapped out 12 hits on the day as
Jessica Shields, Dundee, Walek and
Madison Manders each had two hits.
Adrien Hall, Seefeldt,
Megan Aliverti and
Danielle Crockett also had base hits for Wisconsin-Parkside.
Wisconsin-Parkside also received solid pitching from Dundee and
Allison Hausl. Dundee went 5.0 innings and allowed four hits and just one earned run, while Hausl picked up the win as she went 2.0 innings and permitted two hits and struck out three batters.
Wisconsin-Parkside overcame an early deficit to defeat the Eagles as Ashland scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning by virtue of a pair of Ranger errors.
Wisconsin-Parkside began its comeback in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Manders laced a double to left and Shields followed with a single up the middle that scored Manders and cut the lead to 2-1.
The Rangers took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Walek led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second when Seefeldt dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Aliverti tied the game at 2-2 when she followed with a single to right that plated Walek.
Aliverti moved up 60 feet on a passed ball and advanced to third when Crockett singled to left. Following a pitching change, Ashland catcher Cassie Haight attempted to pick off Crockett at first base. During the ensuing rundown, in which Crockett safely returned to first, Aliverti scampered home and beat the throw to the plate giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
Ashland, which dropped to 2-3 on the season, rallied to tie the score in the top of the fifth inning when Dayna Denner hit an RBI single.
The Rangers regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Dundee led off the frame with a towering home run to left giving Wisconsin-Parkside a 4-3 lead.
Ashland rallied to once again tie the game when Sadie Cunningham lofted a sacrifice fly that scored Jenny Raguz with the tying run, which set the stage for the game-winning heroics of Seefeldt.
Wisconsin-Parkside returns to action on Saturday (March 4) when it begins a three-game series at Lindenwood.
