MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The University of Chicago softball team came through in the clutch in game one and then swung big bats in game two to finalize a doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin Lutheran College on Thursday afternoon.

The Maroons (7-10 record) won for the fifth time in six games. The Warriors fell to 8-18 on the season.

Game One – UChicago 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 2

The visitors started strong in the opener. Junior Samantha Lauro led off the game by singling up the middle and promptly stealing second base. Fellow junior Maddy Mudrick singled and stole a base as well to put runners in scoring position. Junior Lainey Hughes then delivered a two-run single to left field.

Wisconsin Lutheran got one back in the bottom of the second with an RBI single down the left field line. The hosts then tied it up at 2-2 by taking advantage of a Maroon error to score an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth. 

The top of the sixth inning provided the eventual winning run for the Maroons. A single and an error set the stage for junior Katie O'Donnell, who smacked a single to center field to drive in the runner from second. The hosts got one base runner on in the sixth and seventh innings, but sophomore pitcher Elizabeth Press shut the door to earn her first career save. Her two scoreless innings featured one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.

The winning pitcher was junior Bethany Regnerus, who improved her record to 2-1. In five innings of work, she posted four hits, one earned run, one walk and four strikeouts.

UChicago finished with nine hits and one error in the box score. Hughes batted 2-for-4 with two RBI and junior Jules Waller went 2-for-3.

Game Two – UChicago 12, Wisconsin Lutheran 3

Game two looked like another back-and-forth affair early on. UChicago produced in the opening frame once again with two runners crossing home plate. Senior Abby Hayes knocked in one on a sacrifice fly to center field, and Press followed with an RBI double to left center. But the Warriors struck back with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

The Maroons were able to even the score back up in the top of the second thanks to a fielding error. The floodgates opened up in the fourth and fifth innings, however, as the Maroons poured on nine runs to end the game early by run rule.

Press and Waller both rocked solo home runs in the fourth, with Mudrick contributing a two-run single to the opposite field. Senior Jessica Perez tallied an RBI single in the fifth, which was immediately followed by a run-scoring error and a two-run double from Regnerus. Lauro added an RBI groundout to close out the scoring.

All told, UChicago pounded out 11 hits while making one error. Press (two RBI), Perez (one RBI) and Regnerus (two RBI) each went 2-for-2 in the batter's box. Mudrick was 2-for-4 with two driven in.

Press (3-3 record) earned the win with five innings pitched. She struck out six batters while allowing three runs on five hits and two walks.

NEXT GAMES:

• Saturday, April 17 @ 1:00 PM – Manchester University at UChicago (DH)