ROSEMONT, Ill. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay softball team closed out play in the Total Control Sports Invitational on Sunday afternoon, dropping a tight game to Miami (OH) (3-2) to open the day, 10-7, but bouncing back with a dominant win over IUPUI (0-5), 10-2.
Miami (OH) 10, Green Bay 7
Green Bay (1-4) jumped out to an early lead after plating one run in the first inning of play after Allie Taylor singled up the middle to bring Abby Brinkmeier home. The Phoenix defense held the RedHawks scoreless in the first inning, but was unable to keep them off the board in the second, as Miami managed to bring three runs home to take a 3-1 advantage.
Down 4-1 in the top of the fourth, Green Bay responded with a five-run inning to take control of the game once again. Olivia Magaldi, Chyanne Onstad, Brennan Engel and Jaclyn Delagrange all recorded RBIs in the inning.
The RedHawks managed to rally with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to lead things 10-7, leaving the Phoenix with only a single inning to make a comeback. The Phoenix was unable to respond in its final plate appearances, falling 10-7 to Miami.
Green Bay 10, IUPUI 2
The Phoenix found itself in a hole early in its invitational finale, as IUPUI put one run on the board in each of the first two innings, forcing Green Bay to respond to a 2-0 deficit.
The Phoenix didn't waste time pulling even with the Jaguars, doing so in the third inning of play after a Magaldi double brought Hailee Frey around to score and an Allie Taylor sacrifice fly allowed Magaldi to touch home later in the inning.
The next three innings were scoreless for both teams, as the game entered the seventh at a 2-2 tie with the Phoenix taking its at-bats in the top of the inning.
Hailee Frey got things rolling in the inning with a single to left field to give the Phoenix a baserunner with no outs. From there, the Phoenix bats started to get hot and the IUPUI defense began to unravel, as the next eight at-bats saw a Phoenix hitter reach base.
All told, Green Bay scored eight runs in the inning off of five hits and two errors to essentially deflate any hopes of a Jaguars' comeback in the bottom of the inning.
Katie Rossmann only faced three hitters in the final inning, as IUPUI went three up, three down and the Phoenix closed out the invitational with a 10-2 victory.
The win collected head coach Scott Wachholz his first victory as the leader of the Phoenix program and provided promise for the Phoenix moving forward.
Rossman (1-2) collected the win for the Phoenix, pitching the final two innings and only allowing a single hit.
Magaldi (2-for-4), Onstad (2-for-4), Delagrange (2-for-4) and Frey (3-for-4) all turned in multi-hit games for the Phoenix.
"Through this five-game set it was great to see the team build and develop through all phases of the game," coach Wachholz said. "The last three games especially, the women on the team understand that we are going to have to compete for every inch and make plays to win. It's exciting to see our veterans find their rhythm and our freshmen step up when given the opportunity. We leave this weekend understanding that we have areas to improve but feel great about the direction we are going."
The Phoenix will now have just over two weeks off before returning to competition, as Green Bay will see its next action on Friday, Mar. 3 when it faces Bowling Green and Louisville in Louisville, Ky.
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