SOMERS, Wis. -- Senior
Rachel Seefeldt lined a go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning of game two and senior
Carly Dundee blanked Illinois Springfield over the final six innings leading Wisconsin-Parkside to a 3-2 victory over the Prairie Stars and a sweep of the Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader on Saturday at the Case Softball Complex.
Three different Rangers drove in runs, and
Allison Hausl and Dundee combined to limit Illinois Springfield to five hits as Wisconsin-Parkside won the opener of the doubleheader 4-2.
The Rangers, who improved to 13-19 overall and 8-6 in the GLVC, continue their climb up the conference standings with their sixth win in the last seven games. Wisconsin-Parkside is currently tied with Missouri-St. Louis for fourth place in the league standings following the sweep of the Prairie Stars.
The Rangers had to battle back to earn the sweep as Morgan Edwards hit a first-inning home run that staked Illinois Springfield to a 2-0 lead.
Wisconsin-Parkside evened the score with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Kellie Fenza singled down the rightfield line, which marked the Rangers first hit of the game, and advanced to second when Dundee singled up the middle.
Both runners moved up a base when Seefeldt laid down a sacrifice bunt and
Morgan Sikon took the first pitch she saw to left center for a double to score both Fenza and Dundee to tie the score at 2-2.
Wisconsin-Parkside then took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs, Fenza singled throug the left side and stole second base to move into scoring position. Dundee drew a five-pitch walk and Seefeldt then ripped a double to right that scored Fenza with what would prove to be the winning run.
Dundeee, who won her sixth straight game to improve to 8-10 on the season, had to work out of trouble in the top of the seventh inning. BriAnna Edgar hit a leadoff single and moved to second when Haley Inman laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Dundee retired the final two batters on groundouts to secure the victory.
Hausl sparked the Rangers to the win in game one as she tossed 5.1 scoreless innings and Wisconsin-Parkside held on for a 4-2 victory. Hausl, who improved to 4-6 overall, went 5.1 innings and allowed just two hits and struck out a batter to pick up the victory, while Dundee worked the final 1.2 innings to notch her second save of the season.
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the third inning.
Cassie Walek drew a walk to lead off the inning and advanced to second when
Jessica Shields singled two batters later. Fenza then drove in the first run of the game when she singled through the right side to score Walek.
Wisconsin-Parkside extended the lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Seefeldt scored from third on a passed ball with two outs.
The Rangers doubled the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning by scoring a pair of runs.
Danielle Crockett singled to lead off the inning and
Madison Manders followed with a double putting runners on second and third with no outs.
Shields upped the lead to 3-0 when she reached on a fielding error by the shortstop, which allowed Crockett to scamper home with the Rangers third run. Wisconsin-Parkside tacked on a run when Dundee lofted a sacrifice fly to right that scored Manders to increase the lead to 4-0.
Illinois Springfield, which dropped to 20-20 overall and 6-10 in conference play, tallied two runs in the top of the seventh inning, but Dundee induced a groundout to end the game.
Wisconsin-Parkside will seek to extend its current three-game winning streak when it hosts McKendree in a GLVC doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. at the Case Softball Complex.
