LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sunday afternoon was the second day at the Bellarmine Invite for the Green Bay softball team, as the Phoenix fell in extra innings to Western Michigan, and run-ruled Bellarmine in five innings. It's the third straight doubleheader that the Phoenix has split.

GAME 1
The Phoenix was not able to record a run against Western Michigan pitcher senior Reily Galloway on Sunday and were shut out 1-0 by the Broncos. Green Bay had runners in scoring position in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, but went 0-for-6 in those situations. The Broncos walked it off in the bottom of the eighth inning with a Galloway RBI single.

Senior Brittany Baneck came out of the bullpen for Green Bay and took the loss. The right-hander went three innings, giving up one run on one hit, allowing one walk and striking out nine. Sophomore Abby Freismuth was a bright spot for the Phoenix, starting the ballgame and throwing four shutout innings, allowing five hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.

Senior Greta Thompson led the way offensively for the Phoenix, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame with a double.

GAME NOTES
» Phoenix pitchers combined to strike out 12 Western Michigan hitters.
» Green Bay pitchers limited Western Michigan to just 1-for-9 (.111) with runners in scoring position.
» Sophomore Jadin Justman drew a walk in the top of the seventh, the only free pass drawn by the Phoenix.
» Western Michigan was led offensively by Galloway, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
» Galloway led the Broncos pitching staff, throwing eight shutout innings.

GAME 2
The Phoenix got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. Green Bay scored twice, with one run coming across on Thompson's single.

The Phoenix then held the Knights scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. Green Bay scored once on an RBI single off the bat of senior Isabella Curtin, which brought the Phoenix lead to 3-0.
Green Bay held Bellarmine without a run before building their lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning thanks to a sac fly from Justman.

The Knights gained ground, closing the gap to 4-1 before Green Bay added some insurance in the fifth. The Phoenix scored six runs in the inning, highlighted by a three-run home run off the bat of junior Dawn Pawlak, bringing the score to 10-1 in favor of Green Bay.

Freshman Abigail Gawlinski (4-0) was stellar in the circle and picked up the win for Green Bay. The right-hander went four innings, giving up one run on six hits, allowing two walks and striking out four. Baneck also made an impact in the circle in game two, throwing one shutout inning while allowing no hits.

At the plate, the Phoenix were led by Pawlak, who went 1-for-2 on the day with a home run and three RBIs. Thompson had a nice game two as well, going 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. Sophomore Hailey Heckenlaible also stepped up, doubling and driving in a run in her one trip to the plate.
 
GAME NOTES
» Every Green Bay starter reached base safely in the win.
» Green Bay pushed across six runs in the fifth inning, tying their highest-scoring inning of the year.
» The Phoenix never trailed.
» The Phoenix out-hit the Knights at a 9-6 clip.
» Green Bay went 5-for-12 (.417) with runners in scoring position.
» Green Bay pitchers limited Bellarmine to just 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
» The Phoenix drew eight walks from Bellarmine pitching.

COMING UP
GB will wrap up regular season tournament play next weekend at the UE Softball Invitational at Evansville. The Phoenix will play five games at the invite, starting with Evansville at 4:30 p.m. CT on Friday, March 4.


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