GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay softball team picked up its second-consecutive Horizon League series sweep as it topped UIC, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in Green Bay.
The Phoenix has now won back-to-back conference series that started with a doubleheader sweep of Detroit on Thursday. Green Bay now stands at 22-11 overall and 9-4 in the Horizon League. The weekend wins also helped the Phoenix reach the 20+ win plateau for the eighth time in program history.
Senior Stacey Butts (Greenfield, Wis.) got the Phoenix on the board first in the bottom of the second, drilling her second home run of the season over the wall in left center for a 1-0 lead. Green Bay grew its threat after the home run, loading the bases on two consecutive walks and a hit by pitch, before junior Hailey Mohrfeld (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) drove in another run as she earned a walk to put the advantage at 2-0.
Green Bay added one more in the bottom of the third after sophomore Marissa Michalkiewicz (Appleton, Wis.) led off the inning with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by senior Shannon Butts (Greenfield, Wis.) before scoring on a sacrifice fly to left from freshman Allie Taylor (Waunakee, Wis.), adding to the lead, 3-0.
UIC got on the board in the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out for pinch hitter Kaleigh Nagle who delivered an RBI single through the left side. Erica Hampton then laid down the suicide squeeze bunt, but great defensive work by junior Miranda Spangberg (Wausau, Wis.) caught the runner out at home, and sophomore Briana Cavin (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) got her last batter to ground out to end the Flames threat.
UIC and Green Bay both loaded the bases in their half of the sixth inning but left all three runners stranded, and senior Ashley Nannemann (Burlington, Wis.) retired the Flames in order in the top of the seventh to preserve the 3-1 win.
Cavin (7-0) earned her seventh win of the season, throwing 5.0 innings and scattering three hits while allowing one earned run with three strikeouts and two walks. Nannemann picked up her third save of the year tossing the final 2.0 innings and allowing two hits with a strikeout and walk.
Mohrfeld and Stacey Butts finished the game 1-for-3 with an RBI. Senior Miranda Reinke (Milwaukee, Wis.) saw her 14-game hitting streak come to an end, but she continued her reached safely streak to 18 games with a walk in the sixth.
Green Bay returns to the diamond next weekend, hosting Valparaiso in its final regular-season series.
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