Haley Woolf hits three home runs in Saturday action
Purple Aces sophomore Haley Woolf hit three home runs in Saturday’s opener to highlight a 12-3 victory over Northern Illinois at the Blues City Classic. The University of Evansville fell in its second game of the day by a 13-3 final versus Northwestern State.
“Our bats were hot today. We had a great week of practice working on some adjustments offensively,†UE head coach Mat Mundell said. “I thought that work really paid off. Even our outs are well hit.â€
The bats came alive in Saturday’s opener with the Purple Aces earning a 12-3 win over Northern Illinois in six innings. UE wasted little time in getting on the board, scoring four times in the bottom of the first. Eryn Gould singled with one out to bring home Jessica Fehr for the first run of the frame. Fehr led the game off with a walk and stole second.
After Alyssa Barela reached on a fielder’s choice, Haley Woolf hit a home run to right-center to extend the lead to 4-0. Katie McLean continued the scoring with a solo home run in the second. Northern Illinois plated a single run in the second before scoring twice in the third to get within two runs, but the Aces kept the bats going.
Lindsay Renneisen hit an RBI double in the third to score Kat Mueller before the offense erupted for four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Barela led off with a single and was pinch run for by Mackenzie McFeron. She would score on Woolf’s second long ball of the game. Mueller followed up with a single before Renneisen hit the fourth homer of the game for UE, pushing the lead to 10-3.
Haley Woolf put the finishing touches on her career game, hitting her third ball out of the park to help UE clinch the 12-3 win. Woolf was 3-4 with her three homers, seven RBI and three runs scored. Barela and Renneisen each had two hits. In the circle, Emily Lockhart earned the win, pitching three innings while allowing three earned runs. Erin Kleffman picked up the save, tossing the final three frames. Her scoreless effort saw her give up two hits while striking out three.
A quick turnaround saw UE face Northwestern State directly after the first contest. The Lady Demons scored five runs in the second and two in the third on their way to a 13-3 win in six frames. Kat Marshall and Kaitlyn St. Clair notched three RBI apiece.
Evansville added its first run in the second when Hannah Hood scored on a wild pitch. Eryn Gould was responsible for UE’s second run, hitting a solo shot in the third. The final run also came from the bat of Gould. Her 1-out double scored Fehr, who doubled to lead off the inning. NSU clinched the game with five scores in the sixth on their way to the 13-3 win.
Gould had two of UE’s five hits to go along with two RBI. Gould, Fehr and Hood recorded the runs. Izzy Vetter made the start, allowing seven runs, six earned, in 2 1/3 frames. Erin Kleffman tossed three innings and allowed six runs while Jaime Nurrenbern threw the final 2/3 of an inning. She held NSU scoreless.
Sunday’s slate will see the Aces square off against Memphis for a 1:15 p.m. contest.
