PEORIA, ILL. – The Edgewood College Eagles softball squad kicked off their 2024 campaign Thursday evening at the Blue Angel Invite. They faced off with the UW-Stevens Point Pointers and the UW-Platteville Pioneers. The Pointers (1-0) earned a 7-1 victory over the Eagles (0-2) before the Pioneers (2-0) stopped a late rally for a 5-4 victory in eight innings.
 
GAME ONE: UW-STEVENS POINT 7, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 1
- Camden Shepherd struck first in the second, a double to right field scoring Lauren Hillmann to give the Eagles an early advantage.
 
- Small ball would push the Pointers into the lead in the bottom of the second. A lead off single and a walk were advanced to second and third by one bunt before a bunt single batted in a pair of runs.
 
- A pair of singles to start the bottom of the third kept things rolling for UW-Stevens Point. A bases-loaded walk followed by a pair of sacrifice flies would make it 5-1 Pointers. A leadoff triple in the fourth was bunted home, while a fielder's choice with runners on the corners wrapped up the scoring for UW-Stevens Point.
 
- A fielding error by the third basemen in the top of the fifth gave Edgewood College new life, loading the bases with nobody out. The Pointers pitching settled in, fanning three Eagles in a row to cut short the threat. The top of the seventh was a similar story, with runners on second and third with no one out failing to convert into runs to keep the Eagles alive.
 
- Both squads finished the affair with seven hits.
 
GAME TWO: UW-PLATTEVILLE 5, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 4 (8 INNINGS)
- Hebert kicked off the scoring with fireworks, launching a two-run shot to left center in the third inning for a 2-0 advantage.
 
- The Pioneers responded with fireworks of their own in the fourth. A solo shot to center put them on the board, before a double steal snagged another run to tie things up.
 
- An error by the first baseman followed by a single put UW-Platteville in a strong position in the fifth. A sacrifice grounder to second base followed by a double to right field had the Pioneers up 4-2 with a pair of unearned runs.
 
- The Eagles rallied in the seventh, loading the bases with no outs. A Mackenzie Miller walk brought in a run before Kya Loffswold singled through the right side to tie things up with no outs. A grounder into a double play followed by another close ground ball to the shortstop ended the Edgewood College threat and started bonus ball.
 
- A single to right field brought home the runner placed on second to start the eighth inning for UW-Platteville. The run would end up being the winning run, with a fly out to second followed by a line out to right field, who cut down a runner at home, ending the game.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
- Shepherd finished 2-for-2 with an RBI double against UW-Stevens Point.
 
- Hebert started the evening 3-for-4 with a double, before continuing her strong play by hitting 3-for-4 with a home run and a double in game two.
 
- Grace Pustina pitched a complete game against the Pioneers.
 
THE OPPOSITION
- Allie Meyers was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run in the Pointers lineup.
 
- Mirgan Harwood recorded a victory in relief for UW-Stevens Point, with Ashley Zygowski tallying six strikeouts for a save.
 
- Jordan Johnson was a key cog in the UW-Platteville lineup, hitting 3-for-4 with an RBI and a double.
 
- Allison Peters hit the solo home run for the Pioneers, finishing with a 2-for-4 line at the plate with a pair of RBIs.
 
- Carlie Jo Brownlee earned the victory for UW-Platteville, pitching 4.2 innings with two hits and no runs allowed.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Pioneers have won five straight against Edgewood College and the Pointers eight.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will wrap up the Blue Angel Invite tomorrow. They will take on the Augustana Vikings before battling with the Loras Duhawks. First pitch against Augustana is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. against Loras.