VERONA, Wis. – After multiple postponements and delays that allowed them to play just two games in almost a month's time, the Edgewood College women's softball team conserved their energy and opened up their home slate with a bang. The Eagles belted six home runs, including a school record five long balls in game two, to sweep Lakeland 4-3 and 10-7 on Tuesday afternoon.
Despite the chilly, wintry-like day, the Eagles took advantage of a slight breeze blowing out to straight away center in their record-setting wins.
On a team full of talented, exciting newcomers, the veterans stepped up in their first sweep of a conference opponent in nearly two years. Senior Shannon Whitmus earned a win in both games on the mound and hit the go ahead home run in the sixth inning of game one. Juniors Grace Delleman and Jordan Anderson each hit two home runs to power the Eagles to a wild 10-7 game two victory.
Not to worry, a trio of freshman led by Maddy Coppens did their part. Coppens started game two and allowed one earned run over four innings and launched the first home run of her career. Her sliding catch into the fence in foul territory helped thwart a late comeback attempt. Amanda Meister laced five singles on the day, tied a team-high with four RBIs, and earned her first save. And Laurissa Belott kept on hitting by extending her hit streak to 18 games, one shy of tying the school record set in 2008.
A pair of RBI hits by the Muskies (7-11, 2-2 NACC) boosted a 3-run third inning and gave Lakeland a 3-2 lead in game one. Meister's RBI single in the fifth inning, one of her three run-scoring singles on the day, tied it up at 3 apiece.
That's when Whitmus delivered the early knockout punch with a leadoff homer, her first of the year, to straight away center to put the Eagles (10-8, 2-2 NACC) ahead for good. Whitmus (5-4) earned the victory in her fourth complete game after allowing three runs (two earned) and five hits.
The Eagles pounded out 15 hits, tied for the second-most this season, and a school record five home runs in 10-7 game two win. It was more than enough to overcome five costly errors early in the game that led to five unearned runs for the Muskies.
After spotting the Muskies a 5-2 lead through the first two innings, the Eagles went to work en route to six unanswered runs. Delleman launched the first of her two home runs to left center in the third inning to claw within one run and Coppens tied it up with a solo bomb in the fourth.
They weren't done.
Jordan Anderson, who is fourth in school history with 16 home runs, went yard for the first time this year to put the Eagles on top for good. Delleman immediately followed with another shot to left center to push the Eagle advantage to 8-5. Both came with two outs in the
Anderson added her second home run of the game, a two-run shot, to put the Eagles up 10-7 in the bottom of the sixth.
Coppens' stellar sliding catch forced the first out of the seventh, but Lakeland wouldn't go away and made things interesting with two outs. Leadoff hitter Hailey Jester reached with a walk to load the bases. Meister responded by closing out the first save of her career by inducing a foul out to first base to end the threat and secure the win.
Whitmus earned the win in relief of Coppens with two runs allowed (one earned) in one inning.
Calie Delisi led Lakeland with a two-run home run, Lakeland's only four-bagger of the day, in game two loss.
The Eagles have a quick turnaround and will face Alverno tomorrow (Wednesday) in another rescheduled doubleheader at 3:00 p.m. at Ceniti Park.
