GREEN BAY, Wis. – A huge seventh inning rally propelled the Green Bay softball team to a 5-1 victory over IUPUI in the first round of the 2023 Horizon League Softball Championship Wednesday.
The Phoenix will battle No. 1 seed Oakland tomorrow at noon in the #HLSB Quarterfinal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It looked like the Jaguars were going to put a crooked number on the board in the first inning after loading the bases with just one out. GB starter Brittany Baneck made it through the frame with minimal damage however, allowing just a sacrifice fly that scored Kendal Calvert to make it 1-0.
Both teams were be held hitless in the second and third innings as both starting pitchers cruised. The Phoenix was held to just one base knock in the opening three innings, which was a leadoff bunt single by Tiffany Giese in the first inning.
GB's offense would begin to pickup in the fourth when Jadin Justman drew a leadoff walk. She would advance to second on a wild pitch by Jaguar starter Madison Bryant, who ensued by striking out Sam Saloun. However, the pitch went into the King Park turf, which led to a throw to first and Justman reaching third. A couple batters later, Dawn Pawlak also whiffed at a pitch in the dirt, but drew another throw to first which she beat out and allowed Justman to score to tie the game at one.
Entering the fifth inning, Baneck had allowed just two base hits, both of which came in the first inning. She struck out a pair in the fifth and kept the game knotted at one apiece. Both squads had a runner at third in the sixth but failed to score.
The Phoenix bats started to heat up in the top of the seventh, bringing 10 batters to the dish. Hailey Heckenlaible began a one-out rally with a single to right-center. Kaylin Fahy, who made a sensational diving catch in the fourth, followed with another single to the right side. Lauren Porter would enter the game for Kendal Herschbach and collect another hit for the Phoenix, loading the bases with just one out. Eventually, McKay drew a two-out walk to take a 2-1 lead. Justman and Saloun tacked on some insurance with the former bringing home one runner with an infield single, and the latter driving in two with a single up the middle.
The Jaguars strung together a pair of hits in the bottom of the seventh, but Baneck slammed the door on any potential comeback by getting Jaida Speth to pop up to Kendal Herschbach at shortstop.
GAME NOTES
» Green Bay went 3-for-10 (.300) with runners in scoring position, while the Jaguars went 0-for-5 in the same category.
» Green Bay pitchers faced 30 IUPUI hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out three.
» The Phoenix drew five walks from IUPUI pitching.
COMING UP
The Phoenix will attempt to take down defending champion Oakland at King Park tomorrow at noon. If you can't make it to the game in person, catch it on ESPN+ or follow in real-time with live stats.
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