GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the second consecutive season, the Green Bay softball team is headed to the Horizon League Championship! GB avenged a Friday afternoon loss to Detroit Mercy by sweeping a doubleheader on Saturday.
Because Northern Kentucky defeated Youngstown State late Saturday afternoon, Green Bay will be the host of the tournament, which is May 10-13. GB will enter the tournament as the no. 5 seed and battle no. 4 IUPUI on Wednesday, May 10 at 12 p.m. CST. The Jaguars visited King Park for a three-game series back on March 30 and 31, taking two of three games over the Phoenix.
GAME 1 | Green Bay 8, Detroit Mercy 1
UDM immediately had a threat going in the top of the first inning. Jaiden Lara drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring Jenna Holt. With a Titan on each base and nobody out, Paeton Kringel, who got the ball to start for GB in game one, got Allison Smith to ground into a fielder's choice. Paige Hanson tossed home and got a big first out for Kringel. The freshman ensued by getting Jordan Hazel to fly out thanks to a sensational effort from Kaylin Fahy in right field, who dove full-extension, likely saving several runs. Kara Wolfbauer grounded out to third to end the inning.
Green Bay tallied three runs in the second inning, all with two outs. The rally started when Fahy doubled before Kendal Herschbach reached on an error. Tiffany Giese and Randi McKay drew a pair of walks, bringing in GB's first run. Jadin Justman followed by ripping a two-RBI single, giving the Phoenix a 3-1 advantage.
GB would tack on another run in the third and fourth innings. Herschbach poked a single down the right-field line to bring in Hanson in the third before Hanson scored Justman on an RBI single in the fourth to extend their lead to 5-1.
The Phoenix added some insurance in the fifth with a Giese two-RBI single. Herschbach would tally her second RBI of the contest with an RBI single to make it 8-1 in favor of Green Bay. Kringel would shut the door on the Titans in the seventh, notching her eighth complete game of the season, helping give the Phoenix an 8-1 victory in game one of the doubleheader.
GAME NOTES
» Giese broke several more records in game one, with her single season record setting 27th walk and 106th career run scored.
» Justman had three base knocks for Green Bay.
» The Phoenix out-hit the Titans 12-7.
» Green Bay went 6-for-17 (.353) with runners in scoring position; Detroit Mercy was just 1-for-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position.
» GB had three players (Justman, Hanson, Herschbach) with two or more hits.
GAME 2 | Green Bay 6, Detroit Mercy 0
In game two, it was the Phoenix that struck first. Sam Saloun delivered an RBI single to score Giese in the first. A few batters later, Dawn Pawlak pulled a fastball to left field to score Justman, giving Green Bay an early 2-0 lead.
Justman was part of another scoring play in the second when she torched a double to center, scoring Giese. With the hit, Justman notched her 35th career double, setting an all-time program record.
GB put a three-spot on the board in the fourth. With two runners in scoring position, McKay flew out to center, scoring Fahy and advancing Giese. After Justman walked, Saloun lifted a double to right-center, scoring Giese and Justman, extending GB's lead to 6-0.
Brittany Baneck dominated for the Phoenix, striking out 10 Titans and shutting out UDM, sending Green Bay to their second consecutive postseason appearance.
GAME NOTES
» Giese broke the all-time walks record in the contest, drawing her 62nd career base on balls in the second inning.
» Baneck tossed a two-hit shutout for the Phoenix, posting her 12th complete game of the season.
» Four Phoenix had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Phoenix out-hit the Titans 11-2.
» Giese also swiped three bases in Saturday's game.
» Green Bay went 7-for-13 (.538) with runners in scoring position.
COMING UP
Green Bay and IUPUI will clash at noon central time next Wednesday, May 10. All Horizon League tournament games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be found in the ESPN app. For all tournament-related information, follow this link.
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