The Lakeland College softball team demonstrated consistency in all facets of the game in a resounding doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin Lutheran College Sunday afternoon.
The Muskies defeated the Warriors by scores of 7-1 and 8-0, the second win coming in six innings. Lakeland extended its winning streak to five games and moved back over the .500 mark for the season at 14-12 overall, and the team also is making its way back into contention for a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference tourney berth at 6-6 in league play.
The Muskies dominated in every way, outhitting WLC 24-9 on the day and committing just one error over the two games. Lakeland's offense in particular kept the pressure on all day, scoring in 10 of the team's 12 innings at bat.
Contributions were widespread throughout the lineup, too. Fourteen different players finished with at least one hit on the day, and nine players finished with at least one run batted in.
Calie Delisi (
So.-Oak Forest, Ill.) continued to jumpstart the offense from the leadoff spot, finishing 5-for-6 on the day with two RBIs and two runs scored. The sophomore is now hitting .434 this season and has at least one hit or one run scored in 16 straight games.
Rosa Gonzalez (
So.-Elwood, Ill.) added two hits in the first game,
Sami Jo Williams (
Jr.-Sussex, Wis.) contributed two hits in the second game, and
Sarah Seaton (
Fr.-Stoughton, Wis.),
Caten Teff (
Jr.-Alpena, Mich.) and
Hailey Jester (
So.-Salem, Wis.) also all rapped out hits in both games.
Lakeland also received terrific pitching in both games.
Taylor Bush (
Fr.-Waukesha, Wis.) tossed six strong innings in the opener, allowing four hits and one run with three strikeouts before
Rikki Vela (
Fr.-Beach Park, Ill.) finished it off with a scoreless seventh.
A.J. Zickuhr (
Fr.-Bettendorf, Iowa) started the second game and pitched three innings before running into trouble in the fourth, loading the bases with nobody out.
Savannah Stenlund (
So.-Rapid River, Mich.) came on in relief, though, and got a pair of strikeouts and a pop up to work out of the jam, and she would cover the final two innings as well and allowed just one hit.
Taylor Bjork had three hits on the day for Wisconsin Lutheran, which had a rough day fielding with eight errors over the two games and is now 14-12 overall and slipped behind Lakeland at 5-7 in the NACC.
The Muskies are in action at home again Wednesday when they face Marian University for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The games are a rain date for contests originally scheduled for this past Wednesday, April 13.
