Spartans Softball Ends Season in a Nine Inning Battle
Apr 28, 2018
DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque softball team watched their IIAC Conference Tournament hopes slip away on Saturday when they faced the Central College Dutch on Senior Day. The never quit Spartans trailed to the Dutch through six by a 1-3 score. UD rallied in the bottom of the seventh and scored three runs to knot the game at 4-4. The Dutch regained the lead in the ninth after scoring three runs. Once again coach Wendi Wipperfurth's team would not fold as they collected two doubles a in the bottom of the ninth and scored two runs, but fell shy of tying the game and lost 6-7. In game two, it was all Dutch offense as they captured the game in sixth inning by a 0-9 score and finishing with 14 hits.
The pitching has been a strength of the Spartans all season, defensively the Spartans 10 errors on the afternoon proved too much to overcome. UD ended the season with 85 miscues and lost nine games by two runs or less. The Spartans finish 8-30 overall, and 4-12 in the IIAC. Taylor Allard led UD in offense with a batting average of .421, she collected 51 hits in 121 at bats with 11 doubles, two homeruns and 23 RBI's. Seniors Taylor Blair, Ellie Schneider, and Courtney Markin played their final games as a Spartan. Markin led the three with an .297 batting average with Schneider trailing at .254. Senior pitcher Blair would only get 18 at bats.
Blair finished with an ERA of 4.29 after appearing in 22 games and tossing 12 complete games. She allowed 31 walks and fanned 40 batters. Mackenize Kopp ended with an ERA of 4.55 and walked 33 and stuckout 40 batters. The two combined for 109 innings of work this season.
It's been a tough 10 days and the Spartans, who were looking the worse for wear on Saturday with about half the team limping after a tough stretch of 12 games in eight days.
