MELBOURNE, Fla. –
Natalie Ziebell (
So.-New Holstein, Wis.) pitched a complete game shutout to start the day and the Lakeland University softball team won two games in very different fashion in its second day at the Space Coast Spring Games Tuesday in Florida.
The Muskies edged Cornell (Iowa) College 1-0 in their first game, then came back to outslug Marietta (Ohio) College 12-11 in their second game. Lakeland improved to 3-3 overall on the season and is 3-1 after four of 10 games on its spring break trip.
Ziebell allowed just four hits in posting her first shutout of the season and third shutout of her collegiate career. She outdueled a pair of Cornell (6-1 overall) pitchers in a game that included a combined nine hits between the teams and no runs until the sixth inning.
Lakeland scored the game's only run in unusual fashion in the sixth, capitalizing after a pair of Rams errors.
Sydney Meyer (
Sr.-Crown Point, Ind.) reached on an error to start the inning and
Kaylee Hunt (So.-St. Paul Park, Minn.) came on as a pinch runner. Hunt moved to second on a single by
Abby Heitman (
Sr.-St. Francis, Wis.), advanced to third on an error and then stole home, coming in after a walk to
Maddie Raske (
Jr.-Tinley Park, Ill.) and the ball getting thrown around where she beat a rundown to score.
The second game against Marietta (1-4 overall) was the opposite in every way, with multiple big innings both ways and the teams combining for 29 hits in a contest that took nearly three hours to complete.
The Muskies twice responded to outbursts by the Pioneers with explosions of their own, including a combined 11 runs over the third and fourth innings. Marietta took a 4-0 lead after one-half inning, but Lakeland scored a single run in the second and then five in the third to take the lead. Raske singled in a run,
McKenzie Staudinger (
Jr.-Manitowoc, Wis.) sent another in with a sacrifice fly and
Lexi Howard (
So.-Crown Point, Ind.) hit a triple to score two more runs, then scored on a wild pitch to put the Muskies ahead 6-5.
Marietta answered back just as quickly, though, scoring three runs in the fourth to go back ahead, but Lakeland bounced back with a six-run fourth inning to take the lead for good. Raske hit a two-run single and Staudinger,
Reyna Rupnow (
Jr.-Ixonia, Wis.) and
Callie Linders (
Jr.-Griffith, Ind.) all also drove in runs with singles, the last from Linders putting the Muskies ahead 12-7.
The Pioneers still scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and then scored twice in the seventh. Marietta put the tying run at second base with two outs before
Jacie Jones (
Sr.-Prairie du Sac, Wis.) struck out Kylie Cobb to end the game.
Raske, Rupnow and Staudinger all had three hits each and Linders added two hits to lead Lakeland's 14-hit attack.
Addison Dierschow (
Fr.-Sycamore, Ill.) picked up her first collegiate win with two innings of relief allowing two runs while striking out two. Jones pitched the final 1 2/3 and allowed three hits and two unearned runs with three strikeouts to each the save.
Lakeland has a day off Wednesday before returning with two more games Thursday, both against schools from Illinois. The Muskies take on Wheaton College at 3:45 p.m. Central time, 4:45 p.m. locally in Florida, and then face Monmouth College at 6 p.m. Central, 7 p.m. Eastern.
